Rockland elected officials held a press conference Friday to demanda Federal Investigation into the fires reportedly sparked by a passing CSX train and compensation from the train company for the resulting damage. Rockland State Senator Bill Weber introduced new railroad safety legislation inspired not only by the recent brush fires, but the incident in Haverstraw in which a truck caught on the tracks was struck by a train, and the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio…
And that was 97th District Assemblyman John McGowan, Clarkstown supervisor George Hoehmann, 99th District Assemblyman Chris Eachus, Rockland County Sheriff Lou Falco, 17th District Congressman Mike Lawler, Rockland County Executive Ed Day, and 96th District Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski. Falco did note CSX did say they would send him the information requested, but as of Friday nothing had yet been received. If you witnessed anything related to the start of the fires or have video of it, contact the Sheriff’s Department at 845-638-5400. Homeowners who suffered damage can email estimates to CSX at rmfeedback@csx.com.
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All Rockland volunteer fire departments pitched in to get the fires under control when they broke out. On Friday’s “Who Wants to be a Volunteer” program here on WRCR, Rockland’s Director of Fire and Emergency Services Chris Kear called the incident the biggest since the Evergreen Adult Home blaze two years ago…
Kurt Mulligan is 2nd Assistant Chief of the Stony Point Fire Department and co-hosts the “Volunteer” program, and he said, that blazes were so close to area homes, made it all the more challenging to battle…
The fires stretched along nearly 12 miles of railway from Stony Point to Congers. Assistance also came in from Westchester, Orange and Bergen counties. Besides the damage, there were no serious injuries reported.
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A 83 year-old Tallman woman reported missing since Thursday has been found safe. Ramapo Police say the woman, who suffers from dementia, was found by Pennsylvania State Police on Saturday.
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New streetlights are coming to the Hillcrest area. Since the weather is getting nicer and more people are likely to be out in the evening, Supervisor Michael Specht says now’s a good time to put those new, energy-efficient bulbs to work…
The installation of the new lights began last week.