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Family escapes as blaze damages home in Plainfield

By MARTIN C. BRICKETTO
Staff Writer

http://www.mycentraljersey.com

A fire on Sunday, Nov. 30, at a Plainfield Avenue residence left a family of four looking for shelter elsewhere.

Plainfield Fire Department Battalion Chief Nure Jones said firefighters arrived to find flames coming out of the basement windows and heavy smoke inside the home, which is across the street from the Koinonia Academy.

“It was a difficult fire because it was hard to find a way to get to the basement,” Jones said.

Family members were home at the time of the fire, but had gotten out of the building by the time firefighters arrived, Jones said. There was no injuries to family members or firefighters were reported, Jones said.

Fire spread to the walls and baseboards of the first floor, collapsing the floor of one section on the right side of the house, according to Jones, who said the first and second floors of the house sustained smoke damage. Windows were broken to help ventilate the structure, Jones said.

Jones said the fire was under control at approximately 3:15 p.m.

Firefighters believe the blaze started in the basement, though the exact cause remains under investigation.

The Red Cross would be available to provide assistance for the family, Jones said.

Firefighters from Plainfield, South Plainfield, North Plainfield, Scotch Plains, Fanwood, Westfield and New Providence responded to the scene.

http://www.mycentraljersey.com

Ashtray dumped in garbage starts fire that heavily damages Monroe house

A fire burned through a home in the Clearbrook adult community Monday morning after the resident dumped an ashtray into the garbage, police said.

Fire, police and EMS personnel responded to 491A Delair Road at about 11 a.m. after a neighbor reported seeing smoke and flames coming from the unit, Detective Robert Bennett said in a news release.

The fire was under control within the hour, and officials determined the blaze was
caused accidentally when George Sweitzer, 85, emptied his pipe into an ash tray and emptied the ash tray into the garbage, eventually starting the fire.

Sweitzer, who lives alone, tried to put out the fire himself but was unsuccessful,
Bennett said. He suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to Princeton Medical Center for evaluation.

Bennett said the house was heavily damaged after flames burned through most of the back side.

From Asbury Park Press, http://www.app.com

Police investigate Lakewood fire ignited with Molotov cocktails

Police say they are investigating an early morning fire at the High Point Condominiums that was apparently started by a pair of Molotov cocktails thrown through a window.

Police received a 911 call at 6:20 a.m. from the occupants of Apartment No. 5 in building 25, who reported a fire in the unit’s bedroom, said Capt. Thomas Hayes, a spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

None of the four apartment occupants were harmed in the incident, Hayes said, and the fire was quickly contained and extinguished with minimal damage.

Lakewood Detective Steve Wexler and Sgt. Robert Abrams of the Prosecutor’s Office are investigating the incident. Anyone with information is asked to contact them at either (732) 363-0200 or (732) 929-2027.

Fire engulfs computer store, damages Toms River DMV

JESSICA DIKLICH
TOMS RIVER BUREAU

http://www.app.com

A fire at a shopping center on Hooper Avenue Sunday afternoon left one business burned and two others with smoke damage, according to Police Chief Michael G. Mastronardy. No one was injured, he said.

The fire was reported just before 1 p.m. at the Village Square Shopping Center at 1861 Hooper Ave., Mastronardy said. The business that sustained the most damage was TDN (The Digital Nexus) Computer Repair and Game Center, he said. The fire started at TDN, which had interior damage, he said.

There are about 12 businesses in the strip mall, which was blocked off at all entrances while firefighters fought the blaze. A Motor Vehicle Commission agency near TDN was damaged by smoke.

“Because (of) the residual damage, the gas and electric won’t be available to us, so because of that and the smoke damage the Toms River facility will be closed (today),” said MVC Director of Field Operations Bob Grill. “We are directing customers to the Lakewood, Manahawkin and Eatontown offices.”

Garden State Music, which is also near TDN, was damaged by smoke.

“There was a salesman in there and he heard a pop from the roof and what he said sounded like footsteps,” said Garden State Music owner Lisa Kodan. “He heard a boom then the man from the computer store came in and said, ‘Get out, the
building is on fire.’ “

Kodan said she saw a lot of soot and water on the one side of the store, which is the wall shared with TDN, but hopes to open the store today.

“I’m gonna try. The economy is bad enough,” she said.

Garden State Music is normally closed on Sundays, except for the month of December when its hours are from noon to 4 p.m.

Silverton Fire Chief Kevin Geoghegan said there was heavy fire damage to TDN.

“I arrived first with the assistant chief. There was heavy, dark smoke coming from the store and roof,” he said. “The fire was mostly contained to the computer store.”

He said the fire investigation will be turned over to the Toms River detective bureau.

Silverton, Pleasant Plains and East Dover fire companies, Toms River and Silverton EMS and Ocean County Criminal Investigation Unit were all on scene.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

LAWRENCE TWP. — A family of six was chased by smoke and flames from its home in Cedarville late Thursday night.

Cedarville Fire Department Chief Brian Scarlato said the fire was contained to one room, a children’s playroom, in the two-and-a-half-story house at 122 Maple Ave. No injuries were reported.

Scarlato said he was driving past the house Thursday night when he saw smoke. He pulled over, he said, and saw that a resident was trying to extinguish the fire with a hose.

Scarlato called to report the blaze.

Cedarville, Downe Township, and Bridgeton firefighters responded, as did Lawrence Township emergency medical services.

Scarlato said about 53 emergency personnel responded in all, and the fire was under control in a matter of 22 minutes.

He also said he was surprised firefighters were able to contain the blaze so well. The house’s construction type tends to make things difficult and dangerous for fire crews.

Known as balloon-frame construction in the fire service, it is characterized by a lack of sufficient fire stops in the walls. This allows fire to quickly and easily travel upward through the walls, especially to the room above that in which the fire is located and to the top floor.

For that reason, Scarlato said, he had expected the fire to travel to the second floor.

The American Red Cross gave shelter to the family for at least Thursday night and provided food and clothing, said Pamela Grites, executive director of the Red Cross Atlantic/Cumberland County chapter.

Scarlato said efforts were being made Friday to get power back to the house, and that the residents were looking to move back in Friday night if possible.

He also stressed that victims, should a fire occur, must keep priorities in mind.

“I understand it’s a stressful situation,” he said.

“Make sure everyone is out of the house, and call 911,” Scarlato said. “Don’t try to put (the fire) out.”

Jersey City firefighters fought through thick black smoke to rescue a woman from a burning building tonight and then emergency medical workers “brought her back from the dead,” fire officials said.

The woman, who was found unconscious and in the fetal position on the second floor of the two-story wood frame structure, “had no pulse and was lifeless — her eyes had that gray look,” Jersey City Fire Director Armando Roman said tonight. “They brought her back from the dead, absolutely.”

The woman was treated at the scene by Jersey City Medical Center EMTs and then rushed to the JCMC, where she is in critical condition, Roman said.

“The EMTs did a great job,” Roman said. “If she lives, it’s a credit to the firefighters who risked their lives and found her so quickly when there was zero visibility in the building.”

The building, at 256 Halladay St., appeared to be empty and its windows were boarded with plywood. When firefighters arrived at 5:25 tonight, they were greeted by heavy smoke and fire.

While conducting a search of the building, Firefighter Craig Wallace fell through a hole in the second floor, but was able catch himself and raise himself out.

The department’s arson unit is investigating the cause and origin of the fire.

East Orange blaze leaves two dead
Saturday, November 29, 2008
BY KASI ADDISON
Star-Ledger Staff
http://www.nj.com
A 56-year-old woman and her 37-year-old daughter died yesterday in a three-alarm fire that destroyed two East Orange homes and left more than a dozen people homeless.

The bodies of Donna and Ashone Thompson were found in the rear of the first-floor apartment at 219 S. Burnet St. Donna Thomp son was found at 5 p.m. Her daughter’s body was located at 6:45 p.m., said David Williams, the city’s emergency management coordinator.

The fire, which destroyed the houses at 219 and 223 S. Burnet St., was reported just before 6 a.m. and by the time fire officials ar rived, both homes were fully engulfed in flames, Williams said.

“There was fire shooting from the first-, second- and third floors when we arrived,” he said, adding the city’s entire fire force was called to the scene.

Nearby homes were evacuated and a few people were rescued by firefighters, but others managed to escape, Williams said. In all, 14 people were left homeless, Williams said.

One person was taken to East Orange General Hospital and treated for an asthma condition.

In all, 50 firefighters from East Orange, Bloomfield, Irvington and Orange battled the blaze which was declared under control by 8:25 a.m., Williams said.

Authorities have not determined how the fire started.

The Thompson women lived on the first floor of 219 S. Burnet along with Ashone’s teenage son who escaped by jumping out of a window, friend Karen Forbes said.

Forbes was among a group of family and friends who kept a vigil down the street from the smoldering home as they waiting for the women’s bodies to be found. Around 3 p.m. the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office K-9 unit arrived to aid in the search.

“We were hopeful earlier but right now…,” family friend Sherri Simmons said at one point in the afternoon, her voice trailing off. “All we can do is pray.”

The American Red Cross of Northern New Jersey was helping those displaced by the fire. The agency’s volunteers and staff ar rived on scene around 7:30 a.m. to help families with food and clothing.

Penny Freeman, who lived in one of the houses, said she did not sleep well Thanksgiving night and believes it saved her life.

“I saw my dining room light up,” she said. “I looked at the blinds saw them start to buckle and then looked at the house next door. I saw flames.”

She grabbed her two grandchildren and raced out the front door. When Freeman made it to the sidewalk, she looked back at the place she’d lived for three years.

“Flames burst through my windows and shot into my dining room,” she said. “For the grace of God we got out. Talk about a thanksgiving.”

Still it would be hard to start over with nothing, she said.

“I may have nothing but I can breath so I’m still blessed,” Freeman said.

You Tube Video by GSN News:

From GSN News:

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Towns clash over mutual aid
by Carmen Cusido/The Times
http://www.nj.com

Friday August 22, 2008, 8:40 PM

ROBBINSVILLE — The issue of whether mutual aid between neighboring fire departments is truly mutual has arisen in a dispute between East Windsor and Robbinsville townships.

Robbinsville officials have announced that if an agreement is not reached by January, the township will charge East Windsor $150 for the first hour and $125 for every additional hour they respond to fire calls in that township. The money goes toward fuel and personnel costs, township officials say.

Township Administrator Mary Caffrey and Chuck Petty, the deputy chief of the Robbinsville Division of Fire, said $150 is the cost of sending one fire captain and two firefighters to East Windsor.

“We certainly don’t want it to come to that. Our attempts to be conciliatory weren’t getting anywhere,” Caffrey said, adding that she’d like officials from the two townships to meet before January.

Meanwhile, East Windsor Mayor Janice Mironov said the township does not intend to pay bills from Robbinsville.

She also said it bothers her that Robbinsville officials discussed the matter with the media rather than reaching out to her directly. Mironov said that Robbinsville Mayor David Fried “never made any serious effort to reach out…. He’s never telephoned me, never seriously tried to communicate with me.”

She said Fried approached her last November outside a reception room at a New Jersey State League of Municipalities convention. Mironov said she had told Fried the topic “was too involved and complex….that was not the time and place to discuss this.”

But Fried said he tried to talk to Mironov “on a number of occasions,” and tried to reach Deputy Mayor Perry Shapiro, who he said never got back to him.

Shapiro did not return phone calls seeking comment earlier in the week.

Towns across New Jersey and the country frequently enter into mutual aid agreements to provide assistance for fire calls and other emergencies. The service is touted as a way to save taxpayer money and assist surrounding towns.

John Newbon, operations supervisor at the Mercer County Central Communications Center, said no arrangement exists in the county where one fire district charges another for aid. “This is the first I heard of it,” he said.

But Fried said requesting money for aid is becoming necessary.

In a letter sent to Mironov dated July 23, Fried wrote, “on more than one occasion, the paid crew from Robbinsville was the difference between a fire incident being resolved quickly and your residents or workers being in harm’s way.” Fried also wrote that in 2007, his township’s fire crew responded to East Windsor 38 times.

East Windsor Police Chief William Spain, who serves as East Windsor EMS coordinator, said the number is incorrect; he said Robbinsville responded 27 times for fire service and that East Windsor, Hightstown and West Windsor typically respond to mutual aid calls. East Windsor responded three times to calls in Robbinsville in 2007, Spain said.

Spain also said the fact that a fire company is requesting mutual aid doesn’t mean they’re not responding to a call. A fire alarm at a high-occupancy building automatically prompts mutual aid from surrounding fire companies, said Spain, adding he is confident that “existing township resources and other mutual aid relationships will ensure the township is adequately protected.”

Chief Jim McCann of East Windsor Fire Company No. 1 could not be reached for comment, and Chief Barry Rashkin of East Windsor Fire Company No. 2 said he would not comment.

Asked if East Windsor would communicate with Robbinsville to resolve the matter, Mironov said sending two inflammatory letters with misstatements and misrepresentations speaks for itself.

Last month an overtime dispute between Robbinsville officials and the fire department led to what union officials characterized as a potentially dangerous manpower shortage, but Caffrey called it an end to wasteful spending.

Normally a minimum of three paid firefighters are on the engine and two are on the ambulance.

The Times reported last month two paid firefighters were manning the engine and two staffed the ambulance.

In February, Fried and Hightstown Mayor Bob Patten wrote to Mironov, expressing concerns over “the high number of EMS calls in East Windsor that are being handled by the Robbinsville-Hightstown crews.”

In an e-mail message last week, Patten said there had not been any response by East Windsor into Hightstown so far this year.

What’s not at issue is Robbinsville’s emergency medical services responses to East Windsor.

Two volunteer rescue squads take over at night, and the township typically receives mutual aid from Hightstown and Cranbury for emergency medical services, Mironov said.

East Windsor contracts with MONOC — or The Monmouth Ocean Hospital Service Corp., a nonprofit shared services organization– for emergency medical services during the day from Monday through Friday.

Fried said Robbinsville will continue to respond to mutual service fire calls with East Windsor, but “we’ll just start charging for it. Mutual aid has got to be mutual.”

He said Robbinsville receives an equal amount of mutual aid from Hamilton.

He wrote, “All suburban mayors face the problem of declining ranks of daytime volunteers, and we are better off addressing it together rather than passing the cost to our neighbors.”