MILLSTONE — An Oct. 31 structural fire significantly damaged a home that was expected to be included in an inventory of Millstone Township’s historic residences.
No injuries were reported to residents or to the 50 firefighters who responded to the fire at 93 Woodville Road. The fire left the home uninhabitable, according to Millstone Township Fire Company Lt. Michael Maloney.
Maloney said the fire was deemed not suspicious, but said the blaze is under investigation by the Millstone Township Bureau of Fire Prevention and the Monmouth County Fire Marshal’s Office.
The home, belonging to David and Jeanette Bulk, was slated to be added to Millstone’s historic registry, according to township historian Joann Kelty.
Kelty said that when she drove past the home on Nov. 1, she was shocked to see what had happened the night before.
“It’s such a shame. It was such a pretty house,” she said, adding that the home’s setting always appeared “inviting and pastoral.”
Kelty said she had recently begun research on the home in preparation for adding it to Millstone’s historic registry.
“Now it’s gone,” she said quietly.
The home, according to Kelty, was built in 1889. It appears on the Chester Wolverton Map and is listed in the Atlas of Monmouth County.
Kelty said the home was originally owned by J.M. Smith, who was the son of Asher Smith, the tavern keeper of the Smithburg Inn in Smithburg (a section of Millstone Township near the municipality’s border with Manalapan on Route 537). She said Smithburg was named after Asher Smith.
She said the Bulk home was just south of Blanes Mills Pond and noted that the area was once home to a wool mill, a flour mill and a sawmill, which all operated in the 1800s.
Bulk owns and operates Bulk’s Garden Center and Nursery on Woodville Road. The nursery is across the street from the family home at 93 Woodville Road. The Bulk family could not be reached for comment.
Maloney said the fire call came in at 7:05 p.m. Oct. 31. The first firefighter arrived within five minutes and found the home to be heavily involved in a fire that had reached an advanced stage. The lieutenant said the residents had already left the home.
“Firefighters were forced to attack the fire from the exterior due to the heavy damage to the inside of the home,” Maloney said.
Because there is no public water supply in Millstone, tanker trucks went back and forth to a water source in Freehold Township in order to keep water flowing at the scene of the fire, Maloney said.
The Millstone Township Fire Company, the Manalapan Township Fire Company No. l, the Freehold Township Independent Fire Company, the Jackson Mills Volunteer Fire Company, the Cassville Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 and the New Egypt Fire Company responded with equipment and personnel to help fight the blaze.
Representatives of the Millstone First Aid Squad responded to the scene to stand by in case they were needed to provide emergency care. The New Jersey State Police also responded to the scene of the fire.