By Mary Brienza, Staff Writer
Six firefighters and two fire marshals felt sick and were taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick after responding to a mobile home fire in Monmouth Junction, according to police.
Firefighters from Kendall Park and Kingston responded to a fire at 11 Maine St. in the Monmouth Mobile Home Park on Route 1 at about 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, according to police.
The mobile home had reportedly filled with smoke from a fire in the bathroom, which was put out in about 10 minutes by 25 firefighters, Sgt. James Ryan said.
No residents in the home were injured in the fire, Sgt. Ryan said.
After the fire was put out, two township fire marshals started to investigate what started the fire when they started to feel light headed and complained of burning eyes, Sgt. Ryan said.
Six other township firefighters, five from the Kendall Park Fire Department and one from the Kingston Fire Company, also reported problems, according to Sgt. Ryan.
The Middlesex County Hazardous Material team responded and investigated the cause of the illness, which investigators believe may have been a result of a mixing of cologne and insecticide that took place during the fire.
Sgt. Ryan said there was a lot of items in the residence, and that the residents have not been let back into the home yet.
The sick firefighters were released from the hospital, and the cause of the fire is still being investigated, Sgt. Ryan said Wednesday.

