LONGPORT – The Board of Commissioners Aug. 20 honored three individuals who teamed up to quickly help extinguish a food truck fire July 27 that could have easily turned deadly.
Were it not for the quick actions of Longport Police Officer Numa Rodriguez-Rojas, resident Tyler Lawler, who was working his summer job on the food truck, and Ocean City Firefighter Bryan McCloud, the fire could have easily erupted into a catastrophic event.
Mayor Patrick Armstrong presented proclamations of gratitude to the three men along with a little rubber replica of the Longport smiley-faced water tower.
Rodriguez-Rojas has been a Special Class I officer working the bicycle patrol for the last three years. He saw the smoke coming from the back of a Betty’s Seafood Shack food truck, which was parked at a residence and serving food for a private party. Although food truck employees were using a garden hose to help extinguish the fire emanating from the generator, he retrieved a fire extinguisher to suppress the flames and prevent it from spreading. He also radioed for the Longport Volunteer Fire Department to respond.
Chief Frank Culmone said both the officer and firefighter were extremely calm during the event, which kept everyone else calm.
“It could have been quite tragic, but due to fast thinking of Firefighter McCloud and Officer Rodrigues-Rojas this went well for us, and they should be commended,” Culmone said.
Their swift response prevented an explosion of a propane tank, which could have been catastrophic Armstrong said.
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