Fire at Gas Station Closes Route 17

Route 17 was completely shut down Tuesday afternoon as firefighters battled a small fire inside a water treatment facility at a Hasbrouck Heights Getty gas station. 

Smoke billowed from the building upon arrival and firefighters immediately cut power to the building, said Second Assistant Chief Angelo Roccamo of the Hasbrouck Heights Volunteer Fire Department.

"We suffocated the fire right in the building when we cut the power," said First Assistant Fire Chief Pat Hayes.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but Hayes said an overheating machine could have caused a filter to burn.

When firefighters opened the door of the building they were hit with a thick brownish smoke, which Hayes said was from the burning charcoal filter. Hayes said boxes of paper inside the facility had suffered fire damage.

Getty station owner Hmoud Jaloudi stood by and watched as firefighters tended to the scene. Jaloudi told Patch he saw the smoke coming out of the building and called the fire department.

Bergen County Police, Hazmat, and the Wood-Ridge Fire Department were also on scene.

Traffic was reopened after approximately 30 minutes.

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