Gavin Schweiger
Glassboro fire officials work to put out the fire at the Glassboro High School. Glassboro, NJ. Thursday, April 17, 2025. - Photography Editor / Gavin Schweiger
A brush fire ignited on the train tracks behind Glassboro High School on April 17. The fire was later extinguished by the Glassboro Fire Department.
The fire, which first began in Wenonah, was caused due to sparks created by the brakes on a passing train locking up. The train was ultimately stopped in Clayton, according to a statement posted on Facebook by the Glassboro Police Department.
“Emergency personnel are currently investigating numerous brush fires along the railroad tracks on the West side of Glassboro. We are trying to determine the exact source and mitigate the situation as soon as possible,” the statement said.
The train is owned and operated by Conrail, an American rail line company. Headquartered in Mount Laurel, they operate networks including one in South Jersey. The Vineland Secondary line, which passes through Glassboro, runs from Millville to the Pavonia Yard in Camden.
The train whose breaks locked and created the sparks, causing the brush fire, was believed to have passed behind the high school on this line between 1-2p.m., according to Glassboro High School grounds supervisor Sam Panarello.
Panarello and his colleagues went to Wawa to grab coffee before they realized the fire was ongoing behind the high school.
“When we came back we saw that the fire was burning,” Panarello said.
The Whit reached out to Conrail about their train that sparked the brush fire, but they had limited information and were unable to provide a statement at the time.
Glassboro is currently experiencing a moderate drought, but things have been improving, according to meteorologist Alex Staarmann. The 20-25mph winds and low humidity recently created conditions that could potentially induce a brush fire.
“As far as the conditions today [April 17] it’s fairly dry out there [Glassboro],” Staarmann said.
Glassboro High School was put on lockdown shortly after the fire started, where students and staff were quickly told to evacuate, according to Glassboro High School social studies teacher, Taylor Supczenski.
“They [administration] put us in a lockdown and then told us to leave,” Supczenski said.
One Glassboro High School student, senior, Jeff Velasquez, 18, was inside the school when the fire broke out.
“I found out from one of my friends that texted in the group chat. They were saying, ‘oh, there’s a big fire outside,’ and everyone was freaking out inside the building,” Velasquez said.
There have been no injuries reported and an investigation by officials is still ongoing.
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