1 Missing, 1 Hospitalized After 3 Alarm House Fire In Somerset County

SOUTH BOUND BROOK, NJ - One person is missing and one resident is hospitalized after a three-alarm house fire on Howard Avenue in South Bound Brook early Friday morning, said authorities.

At 3:46 a.m. on Friday, South Bound Brook Fire Department and South Bound Brook Police responded to a 911 call reporting a residential fire on Howard Avenue in South Bound Brook, said Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald.

In addition to the injured resident, one firefighter had minor injuries, was taken to an area hospital and has since been released.

Neighboring houses on Howard Avenue also had minor exterior damage.

The fire drew a large mutual aid response.

Fire companies from Bound Brook, Community Fire, Somerset, Somerville, East Franklin, Elizabeth Avenue, Millstone Valley, Middlesex, Finderne, Manville, Martinsville, Middlebush and Arbor Hose responded to help South Bound Brook firefighters extinguish the blaze.

Emergency medical personnel from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Bradley Gardens Rescue Squad also responded to render aid, and officers from the Bound Brook Police Department assisted at the scene.

Detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Fire Investigation Unit along with to the South Bound Brook police and fire officials are investigating.

The prosecutor’s office said the investigation remains open and that the fire’s origin and cause are still under investigation.

Anyone with information about the fire is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutors Office at 908-231-7100 or the South Bound Brook Police Department at 732-356-0087. Tips can also be submitted through the STOPit app, which allows anonymous reports including videos and photos, using access code SOMERSETNJ.

Information may also be provided through the Somerset County Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477) or online at SCPO.TIPS. According to the announcement, anonymous STOPit reports and tips will be kept confidential.