An April 20 fire at a mansion in Rumson has forced the cancellation of the Visiting Nurses Association’s fifth Stately Homes-by-the-Sea Designer Show, which was scheduled for April 25. The fire has been ruled an accident by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. LITTLE SILVER FIRE DEPARTMENT RUMSON — A fire at a 19th-century mansion forced the cancellation of the fifth edition of the Stately Homes by-the-Sea Designer Show House to benefit the programs serving the communities and patients cared for by Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) Health Group.
Charles Webster, spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, said the April 20 fire, which badly damaged the estate Blithewald, on Buena Vista Avenue, has been ruled accidental.
“A joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Monmouth County Fire Marshal and Rumson Police Department has determined the cause of the fire appears to be accidental, and the fire origin to be in the area of a wall located between a guest bedroom, and an en suite bathroom, both located on the second floor,” he said. “Investigators were unable to rule out energized electric circuits or equipment in that area.”
VNA Health Group has been working with the homeowner, designers and landscape artists to recover from the disaster, including helping with retrieval of any salvageable items.
Many of the interior design spaces at the Gilded Age mansion featured paintings, works of art, specialty furnishings, fabrics and fixtures that were specifically brought in for the show house, according to VNA.
“We are grateful to the homeowner, Tom Widener, his partner Janet and his four children, who have been incredibly gracious and kind to us and the designers and landscapers, while dealing with his own extraordinary personal loss,” said Steven Landers, president and CEO at VNA Health Group.
“From the initial planning of the designer show house to this unfortunate turn of events, Tom and his family were perfect hosts and generous sponsors throughout the many months of show-house preparation, and we appreciate his selfless focus on the health and safety of the first responders, staff, volunteers, designers and landscapers since the fire.”
Proceeds of the Stately Homes by-the-Sea Show House tours and preview gala benefit the VNA Health Group programs.
The gala that had been scheduled for April 25 has been postponed to a later date at a venue to be determined. Gala registrations will be honored at the rescheduled event.
The Stately Homes by-the-Sea Show House tours scheduled to take place April 28 to May 31 were canceled, and ticket holders are being issued refunds.
More than 40 top interior designers, decorators and landscape artists from the tri-state area were at work transforming the 10,000- square-foot mansion and surrounding 4 acres.
In 1882, David B. Keeler hired Edward L. Woodruff and Nathan F. Barrett to design the home and grounds that would become Blithewald.