Totowa, N.J. - Fire consumed a power and HVAC equipment business on August 2^nd summonsing a large amount of mutual aid to the scene.

Around 1:30 p.m., local firefighters were dispatched to an alarm of fire at the Sunbelt Rentals business on Riverview Dr.  When they arrived, they found electrical wires in front of the building burning and called for Public Service Electric & Gas to report to the scene.  Smoke also began to show from an garage door.    

Access to the property was a problem, with firefighters snapping locks on gates and utilizing saws to cut through roll down garage doors.  Later, they used saws to open gated windows. A fork lift and propane were some of the items observed inside the structure, along with a heavy volume of smoke.  A 2.5-inch hand line was order into the building. Shortly there after a radio transmission reported fire through the roof. A truck company had already been special called from the West Paterson Fire Department.  A heavy column of black smoke rose into the sky as additional mutual aid fire companies were called in.  

Due to the conditions, a defensive operation was established.  Passaic Ladder 1's tower entered the property and set up.  Because of the building's location, just off of Route 46, there were many long lines of LDH hose stretched to reach fire hydrants.  This included a hydrant on Route 46.  Two chief vehicles were used as blockers to protect Wayne Engine 1-1, hooked up to that hydrant.

As members utilized saws on the rear roll up doors, one of the company's fork lifts was utilized to push in and open the doors for quicker access, and for heavy volumes of smoke to escape.  At times, the area was covered with low-banking smoke, with only emergency flashing lights visible.  Hand lines were used in the rear to knock down visible fire without entering the building. There were concerns over a compromised 1,000-gallon fuel tank at the rear.  Foam units were called in from Passaic and Parsippany District 5 as a precaution.   

A collapse zone was established.  Besides the Passiac platform, tower ladder operations were also performed by West Paterson and Wayne.  In addition, there was a ladder pipe operation by Haledon  and a West Paterson deck gun.  

Heavy fire vented out of the roof, sending burning embers raining down on the area.  Radiant heat could also be felt. The fire caused a Saturday afternoon traffic nightmare in the area of Route 46.  

After 5 p.m., the roof was gone and there were many hot spots to locate and extinguish fire, into the evening hours.  No serious injuries were reported. The North Jersey Fire Canteen Support Unit, which serves the Passaic County area, was on the scene to provide bottled water and food for the weary firefighters.

Mutual aid fire units, not already mentioned, came from  Paterson, Little Falls and Clifton.