Good Samaritan Helps Thwart N. Caldwell Fire

North Caldwell Fire Chief John D'Ascensio described it as a "simple fire," but it could have been much worse if not for a Good Samaritan.

While walking his dog on Canterbury Drive Thursday night, Desi DiMaio, who lives a short distance away on Central Avenue in West Caldwell, heard the faint sound of a fire alarm and noticed flames coming from the front foyer of one of the homes.

DiMaio, who will turn 21 next week, said he alerted a neighbor who was mowing his lawn and they considered breaking the window to see if anyone was inside, but instead notified authorities at about 6 p.m.

"I couldn't really hear the fire alarm that well," DiMaio said Tuesday. "But a few days earlier, the fire alarm went off at one of my friends' houses when we were cooking and that kind of triggered the sound in my head what the noise was."

According to D'Ascensio, the fire only appeared to be burning for a short time before police and fire authorities arrived at the scene.

The residents were not home at the time and North Caldwell Police Sgt. John Belotta forced his way inside. A small fire was discovered and quickly extinguished within several minutes, D'Ascensio said.

According to D'Ascensio, two small lamps ignited a set of photos that appeared to be in a book on a table in the front foyer.

"It was a very simple fire. We just needed to squirt some water on it, but the potential was tremendously great," the chief said. "This young man was a tremendous help to us in putting this fire out quickly."

Once extinguished, a thermal imaging camera determined the fire had no further extension into the home, D'Ascensio said.

D'Ascensio said minor damage was done to the table, wall and a picture frame. The chief reminded residents to keep any sort of paper or cloth-like material away from sources of heat.

If it wasn't for DiMaio, the damage could have been more extensive, the chief said.

"We'd like to track down this young man who took the time to do something. He could have just kept on walking," D'Ascensio said. "We'd like to see if we can do something with the mayor to recognize what he did."