Truck fire forces closure of shopping center, highway

MENDHAM, N.J. (AP) - A garbage truck fire forced the evacuation of a shopping center in Mendham early Wednesday.

Authorities believe the truck’s gas tank may have exploded behind the King’s Shopping Center on Route 24 at about 6:30 a.m.

About a half-mile of Route 24 was closed while firefighters battled the blaze.

Mendham Police Officer-in-Charge Sgt. John Camoia tells The Daily Record (https://dailyre.co/2hNzCqV) the truck’s driver was behind the shopping center to pick up a large trash container when he felt heat in the truck. He got out and noticed the gas tank was on fire

Camoia said a coffee shop and a pizza shop sustained fire or smoke damage.

The center also features a King’s supermarket and Wells Fargo Bank.

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Information from: Daily Record (Parsippany, N.J.), https://www.dailyrecord.com