Neighbor: ‘I’ve never heard an explosion that loud’
Blast rocks area
JERRY WOLKOWITZ An explosion and subsequent fire, the cause of which is being investigated, destroyed this Prospect Avenue home in Red Bank on Monday.
near Mechanic St.
By john burton
Staff Writer
A fire and apparent explosion destroyed a two-family borough home on Monday afternoon, littering the street with broken glass and debris, consuming the structure and injuring three people.
The Red Bank Fire Department received the call at approximately 1:47 p.m. About 75 members of the borough’s department responded to the scene at the corner of Mechanic Street and Prospect Avenue with five fire engines and one ladder truck, according to Second Deputy Fire Chief Alan Soden Jr.
The borough’s department was assisted by about 15 members of the Fair Haven Fire Department and members from Little Silver, Soden said. He said that when he arrived at the scene, he parked down the street and "could feel the heat."
There were three injuries in the blast, according to Fire Marshal Stanley J. Sickels. Two of the victims, a man and a woman who were in the upstairs apartment, suffered severe burns and were taken to Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank, according to Sickels.
After being evaluated at Riverview, the victims were taken by ambulance to Count Basie Field, from where a helicopter transported them to the St. Barnabas Medical Center Burn Unit, Livingston, said Diane Gribbin, a spokeswoman for Riverview. A woman in the first-floor apartment was taken to Riverview and treated for smoke inhalation, according to a member of the borough’s first aid squad.
The names of the victims were not available at press time.
No firefighters were injured at the scene, Soden said.
Sickels said an investigation is being conducted by his office, borough police, the Monmouth County Fire Marshal and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
"We’re looking into it," he said.
The top floor of the structure was completely leveled, and glass from the windows was scattered in Mechanic Street. Some of the glass made its way onto the lawn of the home across the street.
"It was just a fireball," said borough firefighter Thomas Doremus.
Soden said it was the worst explosion he had experienced in his 10 years with the department.
"I’ve never heard an explosion that loud," said Mary Norton, a Mechanic Street resident.
Norton said she heard the blast at approximately 1:30 p.m. and went running up the block.
"The poor people were standing in the middle of the street, burned. The poor things, they were just dazed."
Norton said when she saw one of the burn victims, it appeared as if "the one guy’s clothes were melted on."
"I don’t know how they got out," Norton said.