Police Discover Cranford Blaze
On July 4, 2010, at approximately 1900 hours, the Cranford Fire Department responded to Centennial Avenue for a reported structure fire. A Cranford police officer was patrolling the area when he came across the two-and-a-half story building well involved in fire.
Cranford Engine One, Engine Three, and Ladder One arrived on scene and found the front of the mixed-use wood-frame building completely engulfed in flames. Exterior master streams were set up from all apparatus as the building was too well involved to make an interior attack. A second alarm was transmitted immediately bringing additional apparatus and manpower to the scene.
Firefighters surrounded the building and continued to flow master streams through windows and into the roof area until all visible fire was knocked down. The smoky blaze took approximately two hours to bring under control. Extensive overhaul was conducted with extreme caution as parts of the building showed signs of collapse.
Arnold’s Pest Control occupied the building on the first floor, while the second and third floor contained apartments. The residents on the second and third floor were not home at the time of the fire. No firefighter or civilian injuries were reported at the scene, but two dogs were unable to be saved and perished in the fire.
Mutual aid fire departments from Linden, Westfield, Roselle, Fanwood, Elizabeth, Garwood and Kenilworth were notified to assist at the scene and provide coverage for the town during the incident. Union County Mutual Aid Coordinators were also notified to assist at the scene. The cause of the fire is being investigated by Union County fire officials. The fire appears to have started on the first floor.
-Fire News photos by Keith Addie
Smoke Shows in Wayne
On Sunday, July 11, 2010, the Wayne Fire Department responded to Alps Road on a reported building fire. Chief officers en route reported smoke visible from a distance and arrived to find a rear two-story attached dwelling fully involved in fire. The fire also involved a portion of an attached one-story commercial building, which was occupied as a florist, as well as several sheds and brush in the side yard. Crews quickly put hand lines into operation but required the use of a deck gun to knock down the heavy volume of fire showing out the second floor windows. As the rear building was being knocked down, additional companies entered the front doors of the florist shop and met the fire before it could extend through the rest of the building.
An aggressive interior attack kept the fire from extending and allowed companies to quickly knock down the fire, which was beginning to break through the roof. Numerous firefighters were treated for heat and there were no serious injuries.
-Fire News photos by Michael J. Coppola
Hot Weather Requires Rehab in Mays Landing
At approximately 0305 hours on July 1, 2010, a fire broke out on Knights Bridge Way in Mays Landing. This was the third morning in a row that Mays Landing fire units led off with a two-and-a-half-inch attack line on a dwelling fire. Two aerial device master streams along with two additional hose lines were also placed in service. The exposure dwellings on the B-side and D-side received radiant heat damage, but were saved by the aggressive fire attack.
The Cologne and Laureldale Volunteer Fire Companies were also dispatched on the initial call with the Mays Landing Fire Company. The Weymouth Volunteer Fire Company and the Pomona Volunteer Fire Company of Galloway Township were called to the scene for rehabbing of the firefighters already on the scene.
-Fire News photo by Ken Badger photos
