The North Brunswick police and volunteer fire departments made several rescues after a candle caused a condominium complex to catch fire on Aug. 26, authorities said.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MATT LEVINE Several residents of a condominium complex at Governor’s Pointe, North Brunswick, had to be rescued on Aug. 26 because of a fire. At 8:58 a.m., a 911 call was made from 35 Dartmouth Way to report that there were heavy smoke conditions at the 24-condo building in the Governor’s Pointe development. Several police officers, who were the first responders, began to evacuate residents of the building by knocking on doors while firefighters began battling the blaze.
A 16-year-old girl and a 10- year-old girl were trapped on the third floor of the three-story building, officials said.
Police Officer Greg Gyumolcs said he set up a ladder but then was overcome by smoke.
The fire department’s Lt. Donald Salzmann Jr., Lt. Gary Sharpe and firefighter Elliot Kovell were switched over to a rescue operation and assisted in the rescue of the girls. They brought a ground ladder to the back of the building, and Sharpe carried one girl down while the other went down the ladder on her own.
PHOTO COURTESY OF LINDA WARHAFTIG The residents of a condominium complex on Dartmouth Way at Governor’s Pointe, North Brunswick, had to be displaced because of extensive damage from an Aug. 26 fire that started during a prayer ritual, officials said. “We had the scene flooded with firefighters,” said Danny Jolly, the operations chief for the fire department, noting that water was flowing from the fire hydrants to the building within 20 seconds or so, which was just “minutes” after the initial 911 call.
Since the primary concern of the fire department is saving lives, according to Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Meehan, “crews [work] until the rescue operation is complete.”
Therefore, when a woman outside the building alerted police to an elderly man who was trapped on the second floor, police officers helped out and went inside the building to try and free him.
“I had to rip the screen off,” said Officer Frank Petrillo, who was assisting the man over the balcony. Police said the man jumped, and that he suffered numerous fractures but was moved to a safe location away from the scene.
“It was scary as hell,” Petrillo said, describing the whole complex as black. He said he couldn’t even see the elderly man when he helped him to the ladder. “It got to the point where I was ready to pass out.”
Petrillo said he was equipped with only his normal, everyday police uniform, and that as he was escaping the building, he saw an image of his son’s face.
“Seeing people screaming flips a switch inside you,” Petrillo said of the responders’ instinctual reactions.
“But we have to make sure we all go home at some point,” Police Lt. Roger Reinson said of ensuring the safety of the emergency personnel members. “We have families, too.”
In addition, police officers carried out two elderly people and one severely disabled person from the eastern side of the building.
Meehan also said that several pets were saved.
“If someone came up to us and said there was something with a heartbeat in there, we went in and saved it,” he said.
After the initial rescues, Police Sgt. Anthony Falcone redeployed his officers to the condos to ensure that everyone was outside. Police Officers Myron Cox, John Garback, Ron Girard, Scott Henry, Dave Krausse, Craig Patton and Thomas Vingara were among the police on the scene.
The four-alarm structural fire burned heavily for over two hours, with hot spots being fully contained by about 2 p.m.
The investigation showed the fire started on a ground-floor apartment during a prayer ritual, Reinson said. He said police believe a candle fell over onto some clothing, which then ignited. He also said that because of the breezeways between the condos, there was a “funnel of air which took the fire up and around the back of the building.”
“I’ve been doing this for 18 years, and it’s the fastest fire I’ve ever seen,” Reinson said. “If we didn’t have ladders, we were just going to tell [people] to jump. We didn’t have another choice.”
Mutual aid was provided by the New Brunswick, Kendall Park, Milltown, Holmes-Marshall (Piscataway), East Brunswick Independent and the East Brunswick Brookview fire departments. The Avenel, Sayreville and Bristol-Myers Squibb squads covered the township firehouses.
The North Brunswick First Aid & Rescue Squad provided first aid during the fire and worked jointly with a team from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, according to Linda Warhaftig, chief of the North Brunswick volunteer squad.
In addition, PSE&G arrived to turn off
the gas and electricity lines. The 12 units on the western side of the building were severely damaged, and a total of 18 condos were uninhabitable after the fire was put out, according to Reinson, although he believes the entire building will be demolished because of the damage. The American Red Cross responded to set up shelters. The community at large has also become involved. Linwood Middle School is collecting donations and received donations from the United Way to provide school supplies to students who have been affected by the fire. Also, the Township of North Brunswick is collecting toiletry items and gift cards at the Department of Parks & Recreation at 710 Hermann Road weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Jennifer Amato can be reached at jamato@ gmnews.com