No, it wasn’t your imagination: The horn that calls Verona’s volunteer firefighters to duty sounded a lot on Friday. And it was all for the same address.
Three times on Friday, the Verona Fire Department had to respond to the former Chase bank building at the corner of Claremont and Pompton avenues. Workers there were supposed to be removing the old vault from the building, but something caused a spark somewhere in the process, again and again. (The VFD declined to make a statement about the cause of the fires until it completes its investigation.) Workers were back at the site on Saturday morning.
The building has had a “for lease” sign on it for several weeks, and it is not known whether there is a contract for it that would have required the vault removal. A national medical marijuana company had considered the site as a dispensary in 2020, but wanted a traffic light installed at the Claremont corner.
The Verona Town Council raised objections to the dispensary, and it did not become a reality. But the long-rumored traffic light just might now. Sources say work on the light is expected to begin soon.
