Cigarette is likely cause
of blaze at Monroe home
By tara petersen
Staff Writer
JEFF GRANIT A fire on Talmadge Drive in Monroe began near the deck and climbed the rear wall of the home. No injuries were reported in the blaze.
MONROE — A tossed cigarette butt is believed to be the cause of a fire that ripped through a Talmadge Drive residence Sunday.
The fire started in a backyard garden area, and eventually climbed up the walls of the home, creating a rapid path of destruction. The blaze melted the vinyl siding and spread into the attic of the house before being extinguished.
The lone occupant, David Arnold, 18, exited safely, along with two cats.
Firefighters arrived on the scene within four minutes of a neighbor’s telephone call to 911 around 2:07 p.m., according to Capt. Raymond LeBrun of Monroe Township Fire District 3. Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze before it spread from the roof and attic area.
"The roof is pretty much gone," LeBrun said.
LeBrun said the fire began in the flower garden before spreading to the back deck. Officials said they believe the occupant of the house tossed a cigarette butt into hot, dry mulch beside the deck.
Contributing to the rapid spread of the flames was a gas grill, which literally added fuel to the fire when the pressure relief valve came off as a result of the intense pressure and high temperatures.
"The relief valve is designed to come off to prevent an (explosion)," LeBrun said.
LeBrun said that a neighbor across the street saw the smoke coming from the back of the house and alerted the resident, who was inside the house at the time. Two neighbors tried to keep the flames at bay with their garden hoses while waiting for the fire department to arrive.
"But with what was burning, [the garden hoses] didn’t do much good," LeBrun said. He said the vinyl railing, which is a plastic, melted, creating very high temperatures.
LeBrun estimated that the two-story home was built around 1990. The upper floor, as well as the back of the house, suffered extensive fire damage.
However, the damage to the first floor of the home was mostly related to water and smoke.
He said that firefighters, while putting out the blaze, also did "quite a bit of salvaging" by moving furniture to the center of the rooms and placing tarps over them to protect them from water.
"The firefighters did an excellent job," he said.
The home is owned by Arnold’s mother, Diane Rudel.