By Peter Elacqua
Staff Writer
MARLBORO – Three Marlboro police officers are being credited with rescuing a resident from a burning home in the early morning hours of April 21.
At 1:57 a.m., police officers responded to a residential structure fire at 68 Station Road in the Morganville section of the community. The call to police was made by a passing motorist.
Police said the responding officers reported there was heavy smoke and visible flames coming out of the residence. The officers located Tom Corrado, 67, in a lower level bathroom. Cpl. Thomas Rose, Patrolman Kevin Cain and Patrolman Daniel Gould were able to rescue Corrado by pulling him through the bathroom window, according to police.
No one else was in the home at the time the fire broke out. Corrado was transported to CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township, for observation and treatment of what were described as non-life threatening injuries, according to police.
The Morganville Volunteer Fire Company, the Morganville Independent Fire Company, the Robertsville Volunteer Fire Company, the Marlboro Fire Department, the Gordons Corner Fire Company in Manalapan, the Matawan Borough Fire Department Rapid Intervention Team and the Morganville First Aid Squad responded to the scene.
“I am blown away by how the first responders in Marlboro fight to save lives and go the extra mile to make sure that people are safe,” Township Councilman Jeff Cantor said on April 22. “We have some amazing folks in our town. Our first responders are second to none.”
As she stood outside her dad’s destroyed home on the morning of April 22, Corrado’s daughter, Tina, said her father was released from the hospital that morning, having sustained what she described as minor burns.
She said Corrado began sleeping downstairs after undergoing several medical procedures and slept next to the bathroom from which he was rescued. The bathroom and the side of the home where he was sleeping was the only part of the home left standing.
“Somebody was looking out for him,” Tina Corrado said. “If it was not for that series of events, he would not be here.”
She said she arrived at the home at about 5 a.m. and firefighters were concluding their efforts to extinguish the blaze.
The Marlboro Township Fire Prevention Bureau, the Monmouth County fire marshal and Marlboro Police Lt. Joseph Tomazic are investigating the fire to determine the cause of the blaze.