No one hurt in apartment
fire at Rug Mill Towers
By clare MARie celano
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — The bad news is that the Freehold Fire Department saw its first substantial fire at the Rug Mill Towers on Nov. 3. The good news is that the sprinkler and security systems designed for the apartment building did their job.
The best news is no one was injured.
According to Freehold Fire Chief Lawrence Jackson, the fire department received a call at 8 p.m. from FBS Alarm Company stating that a report of a water flow alarm (sprinklers) going off at the Rug Mill Towers, Center and Jackson streets, had been received. By the time the 911 call was dialed into the fire department, firefighters were already on their way to the scene of the fire.
Jackson said the fire department received a call from the Freehold Borough Police Department confirming the existence of a fire in one of the apartments on the fourth floor.
"We received information that the residential sprinkler system was activated in the bedroom of the apartment," the chief said. "What we had technically was a mattress fire. By the time we arrived, the sprinkler system had actually extinguished the majority of the fire. There were some slight smoke conditions but we took care of it."
Jackson said residents on the third, fourth and fifth floors were evacuated.
The chief said the firefighters were left with just a small amount of fire to actually extinguish themselves. He added that the majority of the damage caused as a result of the fire was from water.
"The fire suppressant system operated in the manner in which it was designed to operate," Jackson said. "It quickly confined and extinguished the fire to the immediate area of origin."
He said after firefighters had ascertained that the fire was controlled and contained, the sprinkler system was shut off in order to minimize the water damage.
The fire chief said there was some damage to the walls of the apartment, which has been deemed uninhabitable by the fire department and code enforcement office. Units on either side of the apartment that had the fire also sustained some water damage through the walls.
According to a police report, the fire was deemed accidental. It is believed to have been started by a very young juvenile who was playing with lighting equipment, according to police.
In addition to the occupants of the apartment with the fire, several other residents were required to relocate temporarily because of water damage to their apartments.
"The bottom line is that the design system worked," Jackson said. "It opened up, notified us, controlled and confined the fire until we got here."
Responding to the fire were the Freehold Borough Police Department, the Freehold Fire Department, the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, the Monmouth County Fire Marshal’s Office and the Freehold Borough Detective Bureau.