'Furiously Burning': New Details On Fatal Mahwah Oil Tanker Fire

MAHWAH, NJ — The Mahwah Fire Department has released additional details about the fatal oil tanker fire on I-287 this weekend, most notably adding that officials were preparing for the fire to be worse.

According to officials, the oil tanker was full, meaning that it was carrying around 8,000 gallons of oil when it rolled over and caught fire. By the time officials arrived, they said the tanker was "furiously burning." (See photos below.)

The driver of the oil tanker, Maher Daoudquneis, 59, of Paterson, was pronounced dead at the scene, New Jersey State Police confirmed. Read more: Victim Identified In Mahwah Oil Tanker Fire

Members of the local department were tasked with handling the fire, but additional aid was called in from a number of nearby departments in New York and New Jersey, as well as the Northern Region UASI foam task force.

The task force brought in nearly 20,000 gallons of foam concentrate, which would have been used had the fire "transitioned to a long term event," the department said.

Luckily, that didn't happen.

According to officials, the burning fuel was contained to around a 2,000-foot stretch between the highway and adjacent mountain. The fire did result in numerous brush fires, but firefighters from Mahwah and other local agencies were able to extinguish them.

In the Facebook post below, the department listed the responded agencies, and also included four photographs of the fire:

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