Mechanical Fire Put Down at Coolidge School

Firefighters have extinguished an exterior fire at Calvin Coolidge Elementary School.

At least two engines responded to reports of a blaze at the Grandview Avenue school at roughly 2 p.m. today and arrived to find a tar kettle engulfed in flames.

Maintenance crews had been preparing tar to fill in cracks on the blacktop behind the elementary school, said fire Chief David Murphy, who was on scene in his capacity as a police lieutenant. The kettle quickly reached its flash point and combusted, leaving flames that a nearby Cottage Road resident said were burning for roughly 15 minutes.

Complicating the response was the danger of using water to douse the kettle, as water can potentially create steam that could produce an explosion, exposing first responders to danger. However, the Wyckoff crews were able to get the smoking kettle under control before 3 p.m.

The blacktop work likely prevented a far more serious incident, as the kettle was located away from the school and nearby playground when it caught fire. There was no damage to Coolidge, and no one was injured. The kettle's location far off the road kept Grandview Avenue open and moving, as well. 

— Nicholas Loffredo