Explosions, military helicopters cause a panic in Totowa

TOTOWA — While it's no secret that the North Jersey Developmental Center is going to be redeveloped, it apparently was a well-kept secret that military forces had intended to use the site to train last month.

So well kept, in fact, that when on April 16 seven helicopters descended on the training center around 10 p.m., few people other than local law enforcement knew what was going on.

"My parents thought we were under attack," said Rutherford Court's Mike Melograno.

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By many accounts, residents living next to what once was the North Jersey Developmental Center first learned of the military training operation when the helicopters appeared in the night sky, like a scene out of "Apocalypse Now," with chopper blades creating a clamor. There were explosions and the sounds of gunfire.

Melograno said he was playing Fortnite with his buddies, who were spread throughout the borough, and they all heard the commotion.

"We were all like: What's that?" Melograno said.

When a loud bang went off, he recalls, his dad shouted, "What's going on down there?"

Melograno said he went out to his backyard, which is adjacent to the center.

"Next I see Blackhawks circling around," he said.

They made two trips, he recalled, one at 10 p.m. and a second around midnight.

"It was very cool," he said, adding that they came back the next two nights.

Told to keep it hush-hush

The confusion and commotion surrounding the training was evident on social media. Around 10 p.m., a resident posted on Facebook, asking: What is going on?

She got 38 responses.

One poster wrote: "DEY HILL is rumbling also ! I thought we blew transformers up here !!! Still flying all around with flood lights shining on property. TOTALLY CRAZY !!!!"

Totowa Police Chief Robert Coyle said he was told about the training but was instructed not to say anything.

"They didn't want 500 people out with video cameras," Coyle said.

He said he was advised that the New Jersey State Police, which has barracks across the street, would be providing security for the operation. The borough's fire and ambulance crews would be on call in case of a mishap.

There weren't any, but the noise did rouse concerns throughout the area. Coyle's department alone received 55 calls the first night.

The chief said he was told beforehand that there would be simulated explosions and gunfire. Coyle said he knew that the noise and the military helicopters would rile up residents, which is why he put a post on a Totowa Web page telling residents there would be state police training exercises at the center.

On the second night, Coyle said, the dispatcher still received 35 calls, and 18 on the third.

The chief, who said it was a Department of Defense exercise, added that he made it a point to watch the goings-on the first night. He called it an impressive sight.

"It certainly was very good training exercise," he said.

Differing accounts said the troops training were Navy SEALs or other types of special forces.

A Department of Defense representative did not respond to multiple inquiries about the exercises, their purpose or why a heavily populated area was chosen for the exercises.

Email: fagan@northjersey.com