NJ Firefighters Online Blog-NJ Fire News/Events from around the web

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.

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.

Fire damages Barnegat home, displaces family
August 6, 2008

Asbury Park Press

http://www.app.com

BARNEGAT — A fire severely damaged a house, leaving it unhabitable Monday night,
police said.

Police and firefighters responded to the structure fire, which was reported at 8:04
p.m. Monday at 92 Village Drive, Lt. Patrick Shaffery said. No one was home at the time.

Barnegat Township Fire Company, assisted by Stafford and Forked River fire
departments, extinguished the fire, Shaffery said.

The scene was secured for the night, and investigators from Barnegat police and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office were on scene Tuesday conducting a follow-up investigation to determine the cause of the blaze.

The Red Cross is helping the family who lived there.

– Staff report

Harvey Cedars house damaged by fire
Asbury Park Press
http://www.app.com

HARVEY CEDARS — Firefighters and police responded to 5504 Holly Ave. after a report of a structure fire at 3:50 p.m. Monday, borough police said.

When they arrived, officers saw black smoke coming from the side of the house. Neighbors attempted to put the fire out using garden hoses, police said.

Members of High Point Volunteer Fire Company in the borough arrived on the scene and extinguished the fire, which damaged an air conditioning unit and siding.

The fire appears to have started in or around a recently-installed air conditioning unit but the Ocean County Fire Marshall is investigating the exact cause of the fire, police said.

Mendham Township residents Jennifer and Danie MacBlain own the home. Volunteers from the Surf City Fire Department, Barnegat Light Fire Department and Barnegat Light First Aid Squad also responded to assist with the call. Borough police officers Steve Frazee and Sean Marti are assisting with the investigation.

100 self-storage units lost in Hardyston fire
Saturday, August 09, 2008
BY JOE MOSZCZYNSKI
Star-Ledger Staff
http://www.nj.com

More than 100 units at a self-storage facility on Route 94 in Hardyston were destroyed in a fire early yesterday morning that injured a township firefighter, police said.

The firefighter, whose name was not released by police, suffered from smoke inhalation and was taken to St. Clare’s Hospital in Sussex Borough, where he was treated and released.

Police and rescue squad units responded to an activated fire alarm at Advanced Self Storage on Route 94 North at 12:41 a.m. and found one of the two self-storage buildings engulfed in flames, police said.

The 16,000-square-foot, nonclimate-controlled building, which housed 105 units, and its contents were destroyed. The second building was not affected by the fire, police said.

Included among those who lost property in the fire was Advanced Self Storage owner Bob Van Zile of Hamburg, who lost his three antique cars, valued at more than $100,000, and a large amount of personal property in the blaze.

“I was probably the single largest loser,” he said.

Van Zile also offered apologizes to his customers.

“We extend our deepest apologizes to all of our tenants. We’re working closely with authorities to find a resolution to this,” he said. “It’s a devastating loss.”

Ninety-seven of the units were rented with eight vacancies, said Van Zile.

The blaze caused Route 94 to be closed until 8 a.m. About 26 area fire companies and rescue squads responded to the scene.

The cause of the fire was not determined, but it is not considered suspicious. Hardyston police, the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, the county fire marshal and the State Police Arson Unit are investigating.

Ewing house fire, shooting may be gang-related
Police are exploring numerous possibilities for events
Monday, August 04, 2008
BY ALEX ZDAN
The Times
http://www.nj.com

EWING — Township police are investigating an arson fire and shooting of a house that occurred within hours of each other Saturday night into Sunday morning.

No injuries were reported in either location, and the flames at the home on the 100 block of Florence Avenue were extinguished by firefighters before significant damage could be done.

Captain Frank Sabatino said late Sunday he does not believe the two crimes are related. Gang activity was being looked to as one of many possible motives in both instances.

But a law enforcement source attributed the Florence Avenue fire and the shooting, which occurred on Parkside Avenue, as the result of feuding between the Bloods and the Crips.

Chief Matt Kalnas of the Pennington Road Fire Company said the fire on Florence began between 11 and 11:30 p.m. Saturday. Firefighters were on scene until nearly 1:30 a.m.

Kalnas referred questions about the specifics of the fire to the police, saying it was being investigated as a criminal matter. Ewing fire officials and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office were called in to assist with the investigation.

At the house Sunday afternoon, fire damage was visible on the siding near the front door. The door itself had some of its decorative molding mangled and misshapen, and some had melted off completely. A shadow of charring was around the frame.

A knock at the door was answered by a woman’s face in the open first-floor window.

“We’ve got nothing to say,” she said.

The venetian blinds came down immediately after, bumping against the window screen.

A neighbor said she had been roused from bed by the commotion on the street early that morning.

“This is a nice street, and it’s sad the things that are happening now,” she said.

Last summer a home less than two blocks away was the setting for at least four shootings in battles between the Bloods and the Crips. The five-year resident said she does not want to move, but spends much more time inside her house. However, yesterday she was enjoying the waning sun outside in her yard.

“I stay in the house a lot now,” she said. “That’s the best I can do.”

She did not have kind words for the inhabitants of the attacked house.

“I don’t know them and I don’t want to know them,” she said.

Police last night could not provide further details of the home on Parkside Avenue which was shot up. It was also unclear by how much time the fire and the shooting were separated.

CANDLES PROBED AS CAUSE
WNY woman dies of burns 4 days after fire
Thursday, August 07, 2008
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
http://www.nj.com

A 40-year-old woman who suffered severe burns during a West New York apartment fire Friday died Tuesday evening from her injuries, officials said yesterday.

Altagracia Madera, 40, died at the Burn Center at St. Barnabas Hospital in Livingston at 8:26 p.m. Tuesday, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said.

Firefighters had rescued the woman from a fire in a first-floor apartment of a two-story house at 6310 Kennedy Blvd. She was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital after suffering severe burns over most of her body, officials said.

Initially labeled suspicious, the two-alarm fire may have started accidentally, arson investigators are now saying.

The investigation is “centering on candles” as a cause, DeFazio said. It was determined that the fire started on top of a dresser in the rear bedroom of Madera’s apartment, where she lived alone, the prosecutor said.

West New York Police Department have been treating the fire as suspicious because the cause had not been determined and due to the extent of her injuries, officials told the Journal.

Irvington house suffers major damage in fire
Mistaken report of young girl inside led to two searches by firefighters
Thursday, August 07, 2008
BY REGINALD ROBERTS
Star-Ledger Staff
http://www.nj.com
A fire tore through an Irvington home yesterday, heavily damaging the three-story structure on 22nd Street and causing moderate damage to a house next door.

The blaze was reported at 11:24 a.m., but firefighters delayed bring ing it under control so they could search for a young girl who they be lieved was trapped inside the house at 10 22nd St., said Deputy Fire Chief Matt Hibbett.

But the girl, fortunately, was not home, he said.

“Because of numerous calls for the child, they got in there quick and did a good job,” the fire chief said.

Officers from the Newark Police Department arrived first on reports that a child was inside, Hibbett said.

“We searched the building extensively,” he said, adding that the house was searched again. “We wanted to be 100 percent certain that no one was in there.”

The mother finally came to the scene and told firefighters the child was not home, he said.

Two pit bulls, however, were rescued from the second floor of the house unharmed, Hibbett said. Three firefighters suffered minor in juries.

The fire, which started on the third floor, was probably caused by faulty wiring in an extension cord, which was under a crate, Hibbett said. “It may have overloaded the circuit.”

The American Red Cross assisted in the temporary relocation of three adults and one child from the building, he said. Six adults and one child were relocated from 14 22nd St., next door, the deputy fire chief added.

That house had been completely renovated after damage from an earlier fire that spread from the house on the opposite side, Hibbett said.

Irvington firefighters were assisted by the Maplewood, East Orange and Newark fire departments.

Two-alarm fire displaces family of 8, destroys home
Officials say basement dryer may be cause
Thursday, August 07, 2008
The Times/ http://www.nj.com
BY ALEX ZDAN
TRENTON — A two-alarm fire destroyed the home of eight people on the 400 block of Walnut Avenue early yesterday and badly damaged the row house next door.

Fire officials said firefighters were called to a home on the street just before 1:45 a.m. Upon arrival, they found a 14-year-old boy on the roof and smoke billowing out of the open front door.

Battalion Chief John Gribbin, who was in command, said firefighters went into that building, but were unable to find a heat source. They moved to investigate next door, which they quickly discovered was the source of the smoke.

“Once we forced open the door, we saw we had a pretty good fire going,” Gribbin said.

The boy on the roof was a resident of the burning house who had crawled out from a second-floor window when the fire began. He had been able to make his way to the adjoining roof. Firefighters were able to get him down unhurt by using a ladder.

Five other residents were outside when units arrived, Gribbin said. One 35-year-old man had fallen down the stairs inside the house while making his way out and suffered injuries to his ribs. The man was taken to Capital Health System at Fuld hospital in Trenton and treated.

Two other residents of the house were not home at the time of the fire.

After nearly half an hour of work, the fire was believed nearly contained. The fire may have started near a dryer in the basement, officials said.

But the fire, which investigators say does not appear suspicious, was assisted by the construction of the house.

Like many homes in the Wilbur Section, the house was built with “balloon construction,” where beams run the height of the house, and there are no fire stops in between floors.

Even though the exterior walls have fire stops, the walls around the rear stairs did not, and the fire was able to flare up there, run up the back wall, and progress across the roof line, fire officials said.

A second alarm was issued and aid from neighboring towns requested. Crews were briefly evacuated from the building and flames were fought from the outside, until larger-caliber hose streams could be used to knock out the fire within 10 minutes.

But the fast-moving blaze had already collapsed the second floor and part of the roof. There was extensive fire damage throughout the house.

Two firefighters suffered heat exhaustion and were taken to Capital Health System at Fuld. They were released later that morning.

Gribbin said the house sustained structural damage and would be torn down. He said the city building inspector planned to take down the wall between the burned house and the one next door during the day yesterday. The home next door sustained fire damage on its third floor and water damage throughout.

The single person living in the home next door is staying with relatives, Diane Concannon of the American Red Cross said. The eight residents of the burned home — a woman, her three adult children, and her four grandchildren — are being provided lodging and food by the Red Cross, Concannon said.

Explosion engulfs truckers’ parking lot in costly fire
Thursday, July 24, 2008
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
http://www.nj.com

HARRISON - Two tractor trailer cabs and a trailer were completely destroyed by fire Sunday morning at a truckers’ parking lot in Harrison, officials said.

The first call about the blaze at 1 Cape May St. came at 9:14 a.m. when a mechanic working on a truck smelled smoke, walked over to investigate and saw flames rising from under the hood of a cab parked on the lot, said Harrison Fire Chief Thomas Dolaghan.

The driver and a security guard tried to use a fire extinguisher to put out the fire, but they were completely overwhelmed, Dolaghan said.

A 60-gallon diesel tank in the cab exploded, obliterating that cab and one next to it, torching a nearby trailer and blistering the paint on the roof of an abandoned car, Dolaghan said.

It took nine firefighters working 19 minutes running two lines of foam to put out the fire, Dolaghan said.

No one was injured, he said.

Dolaghan estimated damage to be at least $100,000, with two truck cabs completely destroyed and the trailer “totaled.”

The state Fire Marshal responded and is investigating the cause and origin of the blaze, officials said.

Blaze heavily damages Bordentown residence
The Times
http://www.nj.com
Monday, July 14, 2008
BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP — An attic fire destroyed much of a house’s roof and displaced two residents yesterday morning.

Fire units arrived on the first block of Greenwood Drive at 8:25 a.m. to find heavy fire in the attic of a one-story residence. The two oc cupants, one man and one woman, had escaped after making the 911 call.

Fire District 2 Chief William Hartman said crews opened up the roof and were able to quickly extinguish the flames. A firefighter received a minor knee injury when the pull-down stairs he was using to get into the attic collapsed. He was treated and released from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, and returned to duty. No one else was injured.

Hartman said there was extensive damage to the roof of the house as well as damage to the ceil ing in the living area. The occu pants are staying with relatives.

The fire is under investigation by both the Burlington Township and state fire marshals, but the fire does not appear suspicious, Hart man said. The cause is currently undetermined, but the point of ori gin is pegged as the attic over the hallway.

Burning bus stops Turnpike traffic in Kearny
by Charles Hack
Jersey Journal
http://www.nj.com
Sunday July 13, 2008, 8:15 PM
A bus engulfed in flames shut down southbound traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike near the approach to Exit 15W for more than a hour, officials said yesterday.

The fire started around 3:25 p.m., said State Police Sgt. Stephen Jones.

A 39-year-old bus driver, who works for TNT Transportation out of Staten Island, was returning his empty bus when he saw that his engine was overheating, Jones said.

Shortly after pulling over to the side of the road, the bus erupted into flames and burned to the frame, Jones said.

Kearny firefighters responded. Lanes were reopened at 4:30 p.m., Jones said

You tube video of bus fire:

80-year-old rescued from fire
by Charles Hack
Sunday July 13, 2008, 9:56 PM
Jersey Journal
http://www.nj.com
Firefighters rescued an 80-year-old woman through a second-floor window during a two-alarm fire that displaced seven residents and injured two of Bayonne’s bravest Friday night, officials said.

Firefighters responded to the blaze at the three-family, 2 1/2-story building on West 5th Street near Kennedy Boulevard around 10:55 p.m., said Bayonne Fire Chief Gregory Rogers.

When firefighters arrived they were confronted with heavy smoke and fire at the rear of the building, the chief said.

People were yelling that an elderly woman was trapped on the second floor and two civilians had already tried to rescue her, but were forced to retreat by the intense heat and smoke of the fire, he said.

Using a 28-foot ladder, firefighters entered the woman’s second-floor dwelling unit and retrieved her, Rogers said. Firefighter Matt Kemple entered the lady’s apartment and handed her off to Firefighter Mario DeStefano waiting on the ladder, he said. The woman straddled him — holding on from the front — while a third firefighter, Tim Ballance, steadied them during the decent.

Deptford investigators rule Chestnut Lane Apartments fire arson
by South Jersey News Online
Monday July 14, 2008, 7:48 PM
By JESSICA DRISCOLL
jdriscoll@sjnewsco.com

http://www.nj.com

DEPTFORD TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A fire that damaged a section of the Chestnut Lane Apartments and displaced one family Monday afternoon has been confirmed as arson by the Deptford Township Police Department and the Gloucester County Fire Marshal’s office.

“After investigation by our department and the fire marshal’s office, the fire has been ruled as arson and we want to speak to the resident who lived in the apartment where the fire started,” said Det. Sgt. George Johnson of the Deptford Township Police Department on Monday evening. “We do not know where she is at this point and will not yet release her name but we would like to speak to her.”

The fire broke out shortly after noon in an upstairs apartment in the complex on Delsea Drive, damaging the kitchen and bedroom and causing smoke and water damage in the apartment directly below. The fire was contained in approximately 10 minutes and no injuries were reported.

“The apartment underneath had a lot of smoke and water damage and most of their possessions are probably destroyed,” said Johnson. “That family has been moved into a hotel by the apartment complex management.”

Several tenants suspected the fire was arson before the investigation was complete.

“The tenant who lives there is the one who set the fire,” said Chestnut Lane Apartments manager Gladys Morton as firefighters cleared charred debris from the rear of the building. “She had some issues in the past and recently tried to attack me, missed me and hit the maintenance man for which she was set to appear in court on Wednesday. She said in the past that she would set the place on fire, but we didn’t take it seriously. I just keep thinking
about how it could’ve easily been my apartment with my children inside.”

Morton was in her apartment when she heard the alarm, saw smoke and witnessed the tenant fleeing the scene.

“I saw the smoke at the same time I saw her running away through the back parking lot and the police are pursuing her now,” said Morton. “We filed for her eviction and I don’t know if she received her notice today or what, but this was deliberate. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but I hope they catch her.”

Juan Rodriguez stood across the street with his family, watching emergency crews work on the burned apartment and his below it.

“My wife called to tell me the apartment was on fire so I rushed home,” said Rodriguez. “I spoke to the apartment manager and she said the woman who lived there set the fire. My wife and I were here when she tried to attack the manager recently and was arrested, but she was allowed to return and she threatened to burn the building down.”

Rodriguez said he was also told that the suspect fled on foot.

Another tenant who lived down the hall shook his head as he viewed the scene.

“I heard the alarm and thought they were just testing it until I saw the flames,” said Joseph Reimel. “I went down the hall banging on everyone‚s door, warning them to get out and I think everyone did.”

Reimel too recounted the tenant’s recent dispute with the complex’s management and threats against the building.

The fire investigation is being handled by the Deptford Township Police Department with help from the Gloucester County Fire Marshal and the Gloucester County Prosecutors Office.

“The fire department did an excellent job in containing the fire quickly and evacuating all residents,” said Johnson. “Even one resident who slept through the fire alarm was removed from the building safely. We will continue to investigate the incident as an arson and pursue our person of interest.”

DEPTFORD TWP. — Fire damaged portions of an apartment building in the Chestnut Lane Apartments complex on Delsea Drive here Monday afternoon.
Reports from the scene indicate the fire damaged the kitchen and bedroom of an apartment and burned through to the common roof.

There are no reports of injuries.

Fire damages unoccupied house
by South Jersey News Online
http://www.nj.com
Monday July 14, 2008, 11:58 AM
From staff reports
COMMERCIAL TWP. — Three local fire companies tended to a serious fire at a mobile home early Monday morning.

The fire, which started shortly before 4 a.m., destroyed the front half of the unoccupied home, located in the 7500 block of Raymond Drive in Laurel Lake.

In addition to Laurel Lake Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company, Mauricetown Volunteer Fire Company and Port Norris Volunteer Fire Company responded to the blaze.

No one was injured in the incident, which is still under investigation.

Brush Fires Temporarily Close Portion of Route 47
Cape May County Herald
http://www.capemaycountyherald.com

MIDDLE TOWNSHIP - Two brush fires caused traffic delays here on Route 47 in the Goshen and Green Creek sections of the township.

At 1:41 p.m. Goshen Fire Department and the New Jersey State Forest Fire Service were dispatched to a brush fire here on Route 47. When units arrived they requested mutual aid from Cape May Court House Fire Department.

Middle Township police stopped traffic while the firefighters worked to put out the fire. Traffic was eventually restored to one lane with the south bound lane closed for about and hour.

A second brush fire was reported shortly after the Goshen fire at 1:48 p.m. in the Green Creek section of the township on Route 47 in the area of Pool Zone. Green Creek Fire Department and the State Forest Fire Service responded to that fire.

An Arson K-9 from the Cape May County Sheriffs office was requested to both scenes. No injuries were reported.

Both fires are under investigation by the Cape May County Fire Marshals office.