The Livingston Fire Department responded to a large brush fire in a tall grassy area behind Eisenhower Parkway and Route 10 on Tuesday evening, March 22.Details were still coming in as of press time Wednesday morning, but the fire appears to be accidental and related to the power lines in the area, according to Fire Chief Chris Mullin.Power outages were reported in the area immediately before the fire alarm came in to the department at 6:50 p.m.; it appears a wire dropped and ignited the dry grass, causing the fire to take off.“It was a pretty extended operation, both attacking the fire and getting a water source,” Chief Mullin said. The closest fire hydrant was not close to the blaze, and was located on the other side of Route 10. As a result, the hose had to run across the length of the roadway, forcing it to temporarily shut down between the Livingston traffic circle and Walnut Street.The Department had crews set up in the parking lot near Staples and at 277 Eisenhower Parkway to ensure that the fire did not spread to any buildings.Once JCPL confirmed that the power was turned off, which took about an hour from the start of the fire, firefighters were able to safely attack the heart of the blaze, which was located at the base of a high tension tower.“Our guys did a great job containing the fire, hitting the perimeter, but we can’t spray live electric, so we had to wait until it was safe,” Chief Mullin said. “Once we received confirmation, we were able to get in there and take care of it. It was a difficult operation because of where the fire was located. We used a ton of hose and we had to go through the muck of the marsh to fully extinguish it.”While all available Livingston firefighters and department resources were on the scene, the Roseland Fire Department was on standby to cover the town in the event of another emergency.In all, crews worked on containing and knocking down the fire for about two hours. The last trucks left the scene at 10:05 p.m. No injuries were reported and the fire never spread to any buildings.“I just want to commend our members for their efforts,” Chief Mullin said. “Especially the command staff, Assistant Chief Kevin Francione, Deputy Chief Josh Lewis, Deputy Chief Ralph Rea, and Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator ...
