'Rocket' Rod From Burning Car Smashes Maywood Fire Truck Windshield

MAYWOOD, N.J. -- A rod launched from a burning car engine whizzed past six Maywood firefighters before smashing the windshield of their truck Monday morning on Route 17.

The rod is at bottom left in the photo on the left.
Photo Credit: *COURTESY: Maywood FD*

The piston.
Photo Credit: *COURTESY: Maywood FD*

Jerry DeMarco

06/26/2017 3:11 p.m.

"That thing was like a rocket," Fire Lt. Roy DeYoung Jr. told Daily Voice.

Firefighters were stretching a line from the truck to reach the blaze beneath the vehicle's hood and dashboard, DeYoung said.

"We were 150 feet away and heard a pop. We thought it was a tire," he said. "Turns out it was an air piston shot from underneath the hood.

"Those things have gone through fire gear before," the lieutenant said. "They're deadly.

"Thank God no one was hit."

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