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A used car dealership and many of its two dozen or so vehicles were destroyed in the five-alarm blaze after the truck and a passenger vehicle collided near the U-turn at the White Castle on the highway's southbound side in Hasbrouck Heights at 5:43 a.m. Jan. 8.
The force flipped the tanker over the divider into the northbound lanes, Fire Chief Mike Greco said at the scene.
(Justin Derevyanik took the photo at the top of this story. See his video below.)
The fast-spreading fire instantly went to three alarms.
It consumed the area, shutting down the entire highway just north of Industrial Avene and triggering a massive response from area companies.
Hasbrouck Heights police also got NJ Transit to temporarily halt service on its nearby rail line.
The firefighters kept the flames from also taking the Extra Space Storage facility on northbound Route 17 despite losing a hydrant right on the highway that was destroyed by the fire.
The storage facility sustained minor heat and smoke damage.
The tanker driver was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center with injuries that weren't considered life-threatening, responders said.
The fire was declared under control at 7:15 a.m.
Train service resumed at 8 a.m.
Route 17 was reopened in both directions shortly before 10 a.m.
Mutual aid responders at the scene or in coverage included firefighters from Carlstadt, East Rutherford, Elmwood Park, Garfield, Hackensack, Little Ferry, Lodi, Lyndhurst, Maywood, Moonachie, North Arlington, Paramus, Passaic, Rochelle Park, Saddle Brook, Rutherford, Teaneck and Wood-Ridge.
Port Authority police joined their colleagues in blue from Hasbrouck Heights and other area towns.
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