Car Crashes Into West Caldwell Home, Fire Kills 2 Cats: Police

WEST CALDWELL, NJ — A car crashed into a West Caldwell home on Tuesday morning, setting off a fire that killed two of the homeowners' cats, authorities said.

According to the West Caldwell Police Department, the crash took place around 8:30 a.m. on the 300-block of Passaic Avenue. When officers arrived on the scene, they found a car crashed into the front of a house and the driver standing outside the burning vehicle.

The fire from the car spread to the house, causing “significant damage,” police said.

The West Caldwell Volunteer Fire Department – with mutual assistance from neighboring departments – was able to extinguish the flames. While the home was unoccupied at the time of the crash, the residents' two cats succumbed to heavy smoke from the fire, police said.

The driver of the vehicle was transported to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, West Caldwell Police Chief Gerard Paris said Tuesday. A police investigation is ongoing, he stated.

West Caldwell Fire Department Acting Chief Rob Hebrank said the WCVFD was dispatched to the crash site along with Caldwell Fire Department, Roseland Fire Department, Fairfield Fire Department and Essex Fells Fire Department to extinguish the fire within the house. Verona, Montclair and West Orange fire departments provided standby coverage for the area at the West Caldwell firehouse during the incident.

In addition, the West Essex First Aid squad assisted with rehab for the firefighters, Hebrank said.

West Essex Now posted the below photo of the fire on social media.

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