Crime & Safety
Business Owner: Fire Causes $500K in Damages
Apparent mulch fire took more than seven hours for 11 fire companies to extinguish.
An apparent mulch fire early Monday morning took and caused more than $500,000 in damages to a Towaco business.
The relatively isolated area at the end of Old Jacksonville Road is the site of several mulching and lumber companies.
“It was a long night for us,” said Nick Mayse, a firefighter with the . Mayse, who lives on Old Jacksonville Road, was one of the dozens of emergency responders on the scene.
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“When we were coming down Jacksonville Road, we could see the sky glowing red,” Mayse said.
The fire began some time after midnight due to a mulch pile that had overheated and caught flame, according to fire officials at the scene. By about 2:30 a.m., firefighters managed to get the fire to die down. The fire crews did not leave the scene until about 8:30 a.m.
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“We lost so much for something so foolish,” said Steve Djurasek, owner of Boards & Beams, one of the companies that operates out of the location. He claims that the fire will cost his business over a half-million dollars in damages.
“My business was good for the community,” Djurasek said. “We created jobs. We provided a valuable service. But you just lose everything so easily.”
Two buildings, two vehicles and a variety of other equipment were lost to the fire, including a wood grinder machine valued at $300,000, Djurasek said. Propane tanks in one of the buildings exploded in the fire, although no one was hurt in the blaze.
Towaco Fire Chief Ken Breeman said the fire appears to have been caused by a burning mulch pile, owned by Jersey Mulch, which sits on the same property as Boards & Beams.
A representative from Jersey Mulch could not be reached Monday for comment.
Fire crews from Towaco, Montville, Boonton Township, Morris Plains, Lincoln Park and Kinnelon were on scene at the fire. Another crew from Pine Brook was on standby at the Towaco Fire Department.
The fire was one of many that sprung up throughout New Jersey over the weekend due to high winds and dry conditions. Pine Brook firefighters also responded to a .
