Tag Archives: New Jersey

Other - Retail, Retail

Willingboro, NJ – Arson fire at butcher shop contained by sprinkler system

A surveillance video of a pair who sprayed what appeared to be an accelerant and lit a match to start a fire in a store was posted on social media Tuesday by police.  This video shows an alleged arson at The Meat Stop in Country Club Plaza in the 300 block of Beverly Rancocas Road on Aug. 26. The incident occurred after the front door window of the store was smashed and the two entered at 5 a.m., lit the fire and quickly left, Lt. Christopher Vetter said.

A store sprinkler system contained the fire and which was largely out by the time firefighters arrived, police said. The store, and some adjacent businesses sustained “significant” damage, Vetter said. The Meat Shop has not yet reopened.  Anyone with information is asked to contact Willingboro police at 609-877-3001 or the Citizen Tip Hotline at 609-877-6958.

Dry Cleaner, Retail

Newark, NJ – Sprinkler system helps extinguish overnight fire at laundry business

A fire that started earlier in the day caused thousands of dollars in damage and temporarily closed Buckeye Linen Services.

The fire was reported around 11:10 p.m. Thursday. Crews remained on scene until about 1:45 a.m. Friday. 

Newark Fire Chief Pat Connor said the fire started in a dryer duct, spread to the attic and ultimately to the roof of the building on Jefferson Street. 

The building had a sprinkler system that activated and helped to extinguish much of the blaze.

Connor said there appears to have been a fire earlier in the day at the facility that crews at the building believed they had put out with fire extinguishers. However, that fire was not extinguished fully and likely caused the fire in the evening, he said.

There was significant damage to a portion of the building to the point where a structural engineer was called in to make sure the building was safe to occupy.

College/University (on campus), Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential High Rise

New Brunswick, NJ – Sprinkler system successfully activates in Rutgers University residential high-rise fire; No injuries reported

Hundreds of residents were evacuated from The Yard @ College Ave this afternoon after a grease fire on the 12th floor set off the alarms and sprinkler systems — but according to students on the scene, there was a notable gap between the evacuations of the top and the bottom floors. “The sprinkler system activated, causing water to reach lower floors down to the lobby,” said University spokesperson Neal Buccino. “Residence Life representatives have been on (the) scene since the incident began.”

No injuries were reported, but according to Buccino, approximately 26 students were displaced as a result of flooding in their apartments. He said Residence Life has connected those students with temporary housing that will be available until they can return to their apartments. Laura Dengrove, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, said that some individuals were asked to provide a record of the possessions in their apartments as a provision in case of flooding-related damage.

“We didn’t really see anything because we’re on the fourth floor. Apparently there were flashing lights near the elevators but we didn’t get any alarm at all, even though the people above us did,” Dengrove said. “There are some people who have been out here for an hour — we just got out five minutes ago. When you look at the whole picture that probably isn’t great.”

The Sojourner Truth Apartments opened earlier this year and aside from drills, this was the first time that an emergency has forced students to evacuate the building. There are a total of 442 students currently living in the complex. Michael Collins, a School of Engineering senior, lives just two floors below where the kitchen fire took place. Unlike residents on the fourth floor, he said he was alerted to the emergency by a series of alarms.

“The first thing that happened around 3 p.m. was we got an alarm that was automated, saying ‘an emergency has been reported’ and to the best of my knowledge it’s the same alarm that happens when there’s a fire drill,” Collins said. “I was cooking when it happened so I figured I’ll just be quiet and stay in my room — it’s a drill, it happens. Then about 15-20 minutes ago we got an actual alert from a person on an intercom saying ‘all residents evacuate’ it sounded legit so we all left.”

After talking to some of the other displaced students, Collins said he began to realize that everyone appeared to have been evacuated at different times, through different means. “I did hear my friend got an actual person on the intercom first and apparently that was a lot earlier than in my apartment. She’s on the seventh floor. To me it seems very disorganized and I’m very confused as to what would happen if a bigger emergency actually did happen,” Collins said.

Retail

Phillipsburg, NJ – No injuries as sprinkler system helps knock down fire at Toys R Us

The Toys R Us store on Route 22 near Phillipsburg was evacuated Monday for a fire that broke out in the store’s office area, fire officials said.

No one was injured in the 3:59 p.m. blaze, which burned boxes, computer materials and other office items in the building at 1280 Route 22 in Pohatcong Township.

“The fire was confined to an office area off of the retail floor,” Huntington fire Chief Dave Cupon said. “It was a lot more smoke damage than anything, but the store will be closed for an undetermined amount of time while they make repairs.”

Cupon said the fire appeared to have started accidentally in an electrical fixture. No one was in the office when the flames broke out, he said.

“The sprinkler system, once it was activated, knocked down a lot of the fire,” Cupon said. Firefighters quickly finished extinguishing the fire.

Three firetrucks extended their ladders to the Toys R Us and Babies R Us roof, where firefighters used fans to help suck the smoke out of the store.

Assisting Huntington Fire Company were Alpha, Greenwich Township, Phillipsburg, Harmony, Washington and Pohatcong Township fire companies.

Apartment Building, Residential

Newark, NJ – Fires set by arsonists dressed as ninjas doused by apartment building’s sprinkler system

Police say two people dressed as ninjas broke into a New Jersey apartment building and set several fires.

Newark police officials say the unidentified man and woman broke in through a second-floor apartment. WNBC-TV reports that there is video showing the two exiting through a side entrance and running off down a hill.

Resident Melissa Ditonto says the alarm loudly alerted everyone to the fire and many people evacuated.

Police say the building’s sprinkler system quickly doused the flames. No one was injured.

Apartment Building, Residential

Passaic, NJ – Sprinklers credited with saving apartments after fire spread from neighboring warehouse

More than a dozen families were forced out of their homes after a warehouse fire spread to nearby apartments in Passaic, New Jersey. Cell phone video of the blaze, which broke out just after 10 p.m. Monday, shows flames and smoke billowing from the warehouse on First Street as it burned for three hours.  Passaic Mayor Hector Lora arrived on scene and took to Facebook, warning residents to take precaution.  “Close your windows, make sure it’s not getting into your house,” he said. “The smoke is obviously right now one of the biggest challenges.”

Food products were being stored in the warehouse along with propane tanks, which posed a hazard to firefighters working to drown out the flames. As the fire spread, the roof of the warehouse collapsed and the flames traveled to a neighboring apartment building facing Market Street. All 13 units were evacuated.

“The five in the back of the building did have fire damage, those were the one right next to where the fire was coming out,” Fire Chief Joseph Cajzer said. “Those apartments are a little worse damage but again, the sprinklers did a good job of keeping the fire in check.” Resident Elder Antoine and his seven family members slept on cots inside of the Passaic senior center along with their neighbors.

“We grabbed everybody and left everything in the house,” Antoine said. “I went down the stairs and I looked and the house was covered in smoke.” Christian Manzanres lives in an apartment with 12 of his family members. They all ran out of the burning building. “I’m scared because I have a cat still in there I’m worried about him,” Manzanres said.

The fire was brought under control after about three hours, tenants in the neighboring apartment were rushed out with at least five units badly damaged. Two firefighters had minor injuries.  The Red Cross says it is helping 50 people with temporary lodging, food and clothing.  The surrounding five blocks in the neighborhood were without electricity.  The fire department said families who were displaced should be able to return thanks to the sprinkler system, but it will be a few days before they can do so.  The cause of the fire does not appear suspicious, but it is under investigation.

College/University (on campus), Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential, School / University

Glassboro, NJ – Fire in university residence hall put out by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Residents of Mimosa Hall were forced to evacuate their dorms shortly before noon on Friday, after a fire started in a dorm on the first floor of the residential hall, according to a Rowan Alert sent to students across campus. Firemen from Washington, Harrison and Glassboro townships and other first responders quickly arrived at the scene to contain the fire while residents waited outside.

Students were notified at the time by a mass text sent out by the university. No one was harmed during the initial fire.  Rowan spokesman Joe Cardona said that when he left the scene, firefighters still hadn’t determined the cause of the blaze.

“When you look at the room, it’s like whatever the fire was down on the ground in the corner,” Cardona said. Cardona also said the sprinkler system activated and put out the fire, which caused water damage to the first floor of Mimosa hall and the six students in the dorm where the fire started will be temporarily relocated until rooms are cleaned.

Freshman history major and resident of Mimosa, Julianne Tarrant, said while she was not in the building at the time of the fire, she had heard that the fire may have been caused by a box fan in the window of the dorm. Madison Klunk, an undeclared freshman living in the building, said the evacuation order was a major hassle for her.

“My aunt’s here to pick me up, and I can’t get in the building to get any of my clothes,” Klunk said. “So I’m going to have to leave and come back later and get it, and that’s an issue.”

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Hanover, NJ – Suspicious fire at Marriott Hotel extinguished with help from sprinkler system

An investigation is underway in an effort to determine who started a fire in a hotel by wrapping a cigar inside a towel and placing it in a linen cart, police said. On March 4, Sgt. John Schauder along with Patrolman Dominic Kaiser responded to the Hanover Marriott for a fire alarm activation. The ensuing investigation revealed that someone had placed a lit cigar in a rolled up towel which was then put in a linen cart that was located on the eighth floor by the service elevator, police said.

The cigar eventually lit the contents of the linen cart on fire resulting in the fire sprinklers being activated which extinguished the fire along with the help of employees from the hotel, police said. There was fire damage to the linen and the walls in close proximity of the linen cart. There was also water damage to the area due to the sprinkler system being activated, police said.

The Cedar Knolls Fire Department as well as a police detective responded to assist with the investigation. The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Arson Unit was notified as well. An investigation is ongoing, police said. No injuries were reported.

Apartment Building, Residential, Residential High Rise

Pleasantville, NJ – Sprinklers help extinguish mattress fire at high-rise apartment building; No injuries reported

City firefighters extinguished a mattress fire Tuesday evening in one of the city’s new downtown high-rise buildings. No injuries were reported in the fire, which was reported 7:23 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10 at apartment 514 in the Main at City Center, 49 S. Main St.  Water damage was reported in the unit and in the apartments below, according to police Capt. Matt Hartman.  Pleasantville firefighters brought the fire under control at 7:35 p.m., Hartman said.  They found heavy smoke on the fifth floor when they arrived, and Pleasantville Police Department Squad 2 evacuated the building’s occupants. Their efforts included carrying disabled residents down stairwells.  Pleasantville Fire Department Shift 1, under the direction of Battalion Chief Ken Crawford, extinguished the fire with the help of the building’s sprinkler system.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Fair Lawn, NJ – Arson fire at commercial building extinguished by sprinkler system

A man was charged with burglary and arson after he broke into a River Road building and set a trash can on fire, police said.  Police responded to 13-09 River Road on a report of a fire.  Police found that a fire had occurred in the building’s trash room and that the sprinkler system extinguished it.  Detective Paul Donohue investigated and, after reviewing video evidence, arrested Edward Ostrowicz, 26, of Saddle River, Metzler said. Ostrowicz is homeless, but found him at his parents’ home, police said.