Marlborough honors First Responders

By Mark Reynolds
Posted 10/16/19

On Monday evening the Marlborough Town Board honored members of their Police, Fire and Highway Departments with Pride of Marlborough Awards for their quick actions on July 10, 2019 after a fuel truck …

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Marlborough honors First Responders

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On Monday evening the Marlborough Town Board honored members of their Police, Fire and Highway Departments with Pride of Marlborough Awards for their quick actions on July 10, 2019 after a fuel truck overturned just south of Woodcrest Lane near 1650 Rte 9W, site of the old town hall. They removed the driver, who suffered a minor leg injury, and contained a leak of #2 fuel oil on the roadway, preventing it from getting into a nearby waterway.
Supervisor Al Lanzetta said by their collective actions they prevented a catastrophe from happening on the town’s main thoroughfare. The awards read, in part: “By their response they have shown the utmost in selfless service. Be it resolved that the Town of Marlborough is pleased to bestow this honor with sincere appreciation.”

After the presentation of the awards, Supervisor Lanzetta called for a round of applause for all involved who prevented the accident from becoming a far larger disaster.

Police Chief Gerald Cocozza recalled that upon arriving at the scene, he joined Highway mechanic Don Fredericks who was standing on the passenger side door of the overturned truck. Together they got the driver out of his cab. He said Harry Freeborn came over with a loader, “and put Don, the victim and myself in the loader and backed us off the truck and took us across the road and dropped us down. Once the ambulance tended to the victim, the Highway guys, including Harry, went with all of the machines and piled dirt around the whole thing to keep the fuel from spilling.” Cocozza said the truck overturned, “because he exited the east side of the road and got caught in a ditch and over-corrected.”

Firefighter Allan Koenig said the fuel leak was stopped by creating a vacuum that cut the air off.

“Without the highways action there would have been a huge environmental issue because that stream feeds directly into the Hudson River,” he said.

Cocozza said they dug down 8 or 9 feet to ensure they removed all of the contaminated soil.