CONGERS, NY – Members of the Congers Fire Department were joined by Senator David Carlucci on Friday as they unveiled and held a demonstrate of a new life-saving 4×4 response vehicle that will be used to access the train tracks to respond to rail accidents and fires.

Senator Carlucci was able secure $100,000 in State funding for the response vehicle in 2016. Rockland County has a number of CSX freight trains that travel through residential neighborhoods, and if there is a fire or a spill, an emergency response vehicle must be able to fit on the tracks.

Further, the Congers Fire Commissioner said if there is a car accident like the one we saw on Route 304 on Sunday, this truck will be useful in responding to the scene of the accident. Normal fire engines do not fit on the tracks.

This month, a CSX train collided with a truck at the Pineview Crossing in West Nyack, and in April, a car burst into flames after colliding with a train at the Kings Highway Train Crossing in Valley Cottage.