The Maplewood Fire Department had a busy night on Sunday, responding to two late night calls one right after the other.
Shortly before midnight, a large oak tree fell across the tracks on the high power lines west of Jefferson Avenue just before Maplewood Station and ignited, said Deputy Chief Joseph Callaghan. The tree was blocking the south/west bound tracks, which were shut down by NJ Transit. Once the wires were de-energized, the firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze at around 2 a.m.
Right after that, the fire department responded to a call of a car accident on Broadview Avenue near Valley. A woman had hit a tree and her car flipped onto its roof, pinning her in. Firefighters safely extricated her, and she was sent to St. Barnabas for observation. “…wearing her seat belt saved her life,” said Callaghan. “She may have been injured by the roof which had crushed down or she could have been ejected,” he said.
Either way, “She was very lucky.”
