By Amy Batista, Special Writer
EAST WINDSOR — Firefighters rescued a mother and baby out of a smoked-filled apartment early Sunday morning, according to Hightstown Engine Co. No. 1 Chief Scott Jenkins.
"Through the combined efforts of the East Windsor Volunteer Fire Co. 2 and the Hightstown Engine Co. No. 1 we made a rescue of those residents," said Chief Jenkins on Tuesday. "Those guys did a great job. Had it not been for them, we could’ve had a whole different situation."
The incident occurred at approximately 12:29 a.m. at the Hampton Arms apartment D13 on July 27.
"That alarm was going off for a long time," he said. "That place was filled with smoke. You couldn’t even see your hand in front of your face there was so much smoke in there. Nobody was coming out. When we saw the smoke we had to break in the apartment in order to get those people out of there."
"Fire personnel advised responding officers that occupants were observed inside the residence," said East Windsor Township Police Chief James Monahan on Tuesday. "After opening the door, the occupant (resident) and her 4-month-old son were escorted outside."
Due to the presence of a smoke condition inside the residence, the two residents were transported to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital for evaluation, Chief Monahan said.
"I believe if that baby was up there for a longer period of time that the infant could’ve died," Chief Jenkins said. "I believe that we got very lucky that got there in time to save that infant."
East Windsor Volunteer Fire Co. 2 Chief Eric Coran noted that the call came in as a fire alarm.
"Upon arrival there was an alarm sounding and no answer at the door," said Chief Coran on Monday. "Crews forced entry into the apartment where there was a smoke condition and no fire."
Chief Jenkins was in charge of the operations of the call while Chief Coran established command that morning.
"Chief 46 (Coran) arrived on location first and reported a two-story apartment building with nothing showing from the exterior and went out to investigate," Chief Jenkins said.
He was advised by one of the homeowners next to the apartment in question that the alarm had been going off for about 30 minutes, he said.
Chief Jenkins noted he arrived on location "probably within a minute" after Chief Coran arrived.
"He called to me and said Chief 41 (Jenkins) go up and start the investigation," he said. "Upon walking up, I noticed a slight haze over the building. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was and once we were up there you could hear the smoke detector going off in the unit."
He noted he started banging on the door and yelling "fire department" several times but no one answered.
"I was also able to smell smoke outside," he said, adding it smelled like a "careless cooking type of smell."
Hightstown Engine Co. No. 1 and East Windsor Volunteer Fire Co. 2 arrived on location and came up to the scene.
"I told them to bring their thermal imaging cameras to see if we could see anything from outside and we started banging on the door again with no answer," he said. "So I gave the order to go get a ladder and ladder the second story unit where the alarm was going off. I told them to look in the window and see if they see anything and put the camera in there and see if they come up with anything."
He noted that East Windsor Volunteer Fire Co. 2 Capt. 46 Mario Batista climbed up on the ladder to the window and reported to him to that he had "heavy smoke inside the residence."
"At that time I gave the order to take the door (break in the door)," he said. "We went up to the second floor and we broke in the top door. When they broke in the top door the whole place was filled with smoke."
As they entered the unit, they found residents inside.
"There was another female adult and we wrapped her in a blanket and walked her out," he said. "We carried out an infant."
He noted as soon as he saw the infant come out he called for EMS and notified them that they had an infant to come up to the scene to evaluate.
"We had to check it for smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning," he said.
Death certificates show a 2-to-1 ratio of smoke inhalation to burns for fire deaths overall, while fire incident reports show an 8-to-1 ratio for home fire deaths. Deaths involving both smoke inhalation and burns account for about one-quarter of fire deaths reported on death certificates and about half of home fire deaths reported in fire incident reports, according to the National Fire Protection Association website.
The other firefighters proceeded in to ascertain where the all the smoke was coming.
The source of the smoke was determined to be burned food. No damage to the residence was observed or reported, police said.
"They got to the stove and found there was careless cooking so they took everything off the top of the stove and then they secured the stove," Chief Jenkins said.
"We ventilated that small apartment for about 20 to 25 minutes to get all the smoke out of there," he said.
"It was a job well done by the crews from East Windsor Volunteer Fire Co. 2 and Hightstown Engine Co. No. 1," Chief Coran said.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The author is the spouse of Capt. Mario Batista.
