FREEHOLD — No one was injured in an afternoon fire at the Rug Mill Towers, Jackson Street, on Nov. 19. Police officers and firefighters responded to the call at 3:30 p.m.
The Freehold Borough Police Department has its headquarters in the Rug Mill Towers.
According to police Lt. Mark Wodell, there were no injuries reported from the fire. He said the blaze was caused by two residents of the apartment complex, an 8-year-old and a 9-year-old, who were playing with matches in their third floor apartment.
When the fire broke out, the children’s parent removed the children from the apartment and called police.
Wodell said a couch caught fire and set off the sprinkler system in the apartment. The sprinklers extinguished the fire. Firefighters who responded to the scene vented the smoke that was caused by the blaze, he said.
Wodell said there was water damage in the apartment and the water traveled to the second floor and into a storage room and bathroom used by the Freehold Borough municipal court, which is located in the Rug Mill Towers.
The lieutenant said no one had to be relocated as a result of the accidental afternoon fire.
Vanessa Field, the office manager of the Rug Mill Towers, said maintenance crews worked until midnight Nov. 19 to clean the water and debris in the apartment where the fire occurred, as well as on the second floor and in the municipal court facilities.
The cleanup was completed on Nov. 21, Field said.
Borough Administrator Joseph Bellina told the News Transcript that Certified Municipal Court Administrator Stacy Kitson was called by police at the time of the fire and responded to the municipal court immediately.
He said that as a result of Kitson’s quick action, the municipal court was expected to be open for business on Nov. 22 for its regular session.
“She did a good job and acted to preserve files and records,” Bellina said of Kitson. “She thought quickly and accurately in everything she did and with some help from the streets and roads department and the Rug Mill Towers cleanup team, who did an excellent job, there will be no need to cancel our court session.”
He said insurance adjusters were at the municipal court on Nov. 21 to assess the situation and estimate damages, and to see if any additional steps needed to be taken.