Town Plow Truck Destroyed by Flames

Update, 11:30 a.m.:  A driver for the East Hampton Town Highway Department was plowing and sanding Old Montauk Highway Monday morning around 6 when he saw flames shooting out from the truck. A few minutes later it was engulfed.

The Montauk Fire Department was dispatched to a truck fire near Washington Drive, and did not discover it was a town vehicle until the first firefighters arrived, according to Vinnie Franzone, the first assistant fire chief, who was the first chief on the scene. Jim Nigro, the driver, was already out of the truck, unscathed. 

Stephen Lynch, the town highway superintendent, said he's not sure what caused the six-wheel truck with a sander-spreader on the back to catch fire. Mr. Nigro "heard a pop" and then saw flames, before he jumped out and used his fire extinguisher. "It didn't do anything," Mr. Lynch said.

The truck, one of the newer ones in the fleet, had only been in use about an hour Monday morning when the fire broke out, Mr. Lynch said. It was destroyed. "Nobody got hurt that's what's important. A truck can be replaced," he said.

Once the engine arrived, the fire was not difficult to get under control, Chief Franzone said. "Because it was a sander, the only thing that could burn on it was the cab," he said, adding there was no threat of explosion because it took diesel fuel. 

Mr. Nigro was among the many highway employees who had reported to work at about 3:30 a.m. to plow and sand as another winter storm dropped 2 to 4 inches on the area. The Highway Department brought a payloader to remove snow from a parking lot on Washington Drive, and then placed the charred truck in the lot.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nigro was quickly given another truck so he could continue sanding Montauk streets before students headed to schools, which were on a two-hour delay, Mr. Lynch said. 

Original, 6:37 a.m.: An East Hampton Town Highway plow truck reportedly was destroyed when it erupted in flames while it was being used in Montauk on Monday morning. 

The Montauk Fire Department was called to Old Montauk Highway and Washington Drive just after 6 a.m. It was located in the middle of the road and fully engulfed when the first chief arrived. 

Due to the hazardous road conditions that included freezing rain, snow accumulations, high winds and low visibility, firefighters were told to use extreme caution while responding. The chief ordered all volunteer firefighters to report to the firehouse, and not to bring personal vehicles to the scene. He also wanted only one engine and a tanker truck to respond. Firefighters were able to douse the flames, and the tanker truck was sent home before it arrived.

No one was injured.

The fire chief called for a tow truck to remove the burned truck from the middle of the road. 

Stephen Lynch, the East Hampton Highway Superintendent, was heading to Montauk to assess the situation. 

Check back for more information as it becomes available.