Squad 2 Responds to 3 Alarm Fire
Thursday 09|03|2009 Filed in: Operations
Squad 2 BLS and Special Teams (STAR) Unit respond to
a 3-Alarm fire in South Edison District 1
5 Displaced by 3-Alarm Blaze that Destroyed Edison
Home
(reprinted from mycentraljersey.com)
September 1, 2009 - Five people were displaced Tuesday afternoon when a smoky three-alarm fire burned through their house on Edmund Street, authorities said.
Officials early Tuesday evening were still investigating the cause and origin of the 3 p.m. blaze, which gutted the single-family dwelling but resulted in no injuries.
Authorities and witnesses reported seeing flames shoot through the roof and windows of the home, located near Route 1 and the New Brunswick border. Smoke from the fire could be seen from the Goodkind Bridge on Route 1.
Troy Whitney, whose family was visiting at his mother in-law's house across the street, said he was in the shower when he first heard the commotion outside.
"All I saw were fire trucks coming from left and right,'' he said. "And I looked at the house and said, "Oh my God, the thing is burning to the ground.''
Whitney, 35, said he saw "thick, toxic smoke'' surrounding the house as flames shot out.
Edison Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Szebenyi said the fire at 38 Edmund St. was first reported by one of the homeowners. Scores of township firefighters responded to find heavy flames coming through the windows, forcing them to work from outside.
Friends of the displaced residents appeared to console them as they watched firefighters douse the smoldering home from across the street. Crews were still spraying water into the structure at 5 p.m., while the street buzzed with the fire engines, police cars and rescue squad vehicles that remained.
Whitney, who said his mother-in-law knows the family, said the younger residents appeared to show up after the fire broke out.
"Just to see their faces when they appeared at the scene — they broke down,'' he said.
Szebenyi said it would take time before the fire was considered under control because there were still pockets of fire inside the charred structure.
"It's going to be a total loss,'' he said.
Firefighters from every township department responded, along with the Edison First Aid Squad and Edison police. Crews from Metuchen and South Plainfield also responded, while neighboring departments covered the township's vacant firehouses.
(Photos: Squad 2 Captain Phil Taglianetti is EMS Command, far right)
(reprinted from mycentraljersey.com)
September 1, 2009 - Five people were displaced Tuesday afternoon when a smoky three-alarm fire burned through their house on Edmund Street, authorities said.
Officials early Tuesday evening were still investigating the cause and origin of the 3 p.m. blaze, which gutted the single-family dwelling but resulted in no injuries.
Authorities and witnesses reported seeing flames shoot through the roof and windows of the home, located near Route 1 and the New Brunswick border. Smoke from the fire could be seen from the Goodkind Bridge on Route 1.
Troy Whitney, whose family was visiting at his mother in-law's house across the street, said he was in the shower when he first heard the commotion outside.
"All I saw were fire trucks coming from left and right,'' he said. "And I looked at the house and said, "Oh my God, the thing is burning to the ground.''
Whitney, 35, said he saw "thick, toxic smoke'' surrounding the house as flames shot out.
Edison Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Szebenyi said the fire at 38 Edmund St. was first reported by one of the homeowners. Scores of township firefighters responded to find heavy flames coming through the windows, forcing them to work from outside.
Friends of the displaced residents appeared to console them as they watched firefighters douse the smoldering home from across the street. Crews were still spraying water into the structure at 5 p.m., while the street buzzed with the fire engines, police cars and rescue squad vehicles that remained.
Whitney, who said his mother-in-law knows the family, said the younger residents appeared to show up after the fire broke out.
"Just to see their faces when they appeared at the scene — they broke down,'' he said.
Szebenyi said it would take time before the fire was considered under control because there were still pockets of fire inside the charred structure.
"It's going to be a total loss,'' he said.
Firefighters from every township department responded, along with the Edison First Aid Squad and Edison police. Crews from Metuchen and South Plainfield also responded, while neighboring departments covered the township's vacant firehouses.
(Photos: Squad 2 Captain Phil Taglianetti is EMS Command, far right)
