Crime & Safety
Route 1 Truck Fire Ruled Accidental
Welding torch causes clothes in rear of truck to catch fire, police said.
No injuries were suffered during a truck fire that closed Route 1 Saturday morning.
At 7:30 a.m., South Brunswick Police responded to a 911 report of a box truck on fire near the Route 1 north intersection with Route 522. First responders arrived at the scene to find the box truck fully engulfed in flames.
The Monmouth Junction Fire Department was able to extinguish the blaze after 45 minutes, as the northbound lanes of Route 1 were closed for about 90 minutes.
The truck was en route from Pennsylvania to New York to drop off clothing items for the NY Clipper Corporation, police said. The driver told officers he was heading north on Route 1 when he saw smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle.
He then stopped the truck and opened the back door, which allowed the fire to consume the truck, according to police.
The cause of the blaze was attributed to a welding torch that was stored in the back of the truck, which may have still been hot when it was placed next to the clothes, the driver said.
The Monmouth Junction First Aid Squad also responded to the call, but there were no injuries.
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