Son Rescues Aunt, Uncle From Edison House Fire; Father Dies

EDISON, NJ — Despite his son's best efforts to save him, a man died in an early morning fire in Edison, township officials told Patch.

The fire began at 89 Livingston Ave around 5:09 a.m., Fire Captain Andy Toth said. Two brothers, a 75-year-old and a 70-year-old shared the basement apartment, while their sister, who is in her 60s and has vision loss, lived on the main floor.

The older brother's son, a 53-year-old visiting from New Hope, Pennsylvania, attempted to save all three of them, officials said. He was able to rescue his aunt and his uncle, but was unable to enter the home again to save his father.

The uncle was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital with burns, and the son and aunt were treated for smoke inhalation at the scene, but was otherwise uninjured.

One of the family's two dogs was able to escape uninjured, but the other is missing and presumed dead, Toth said.

The home was totally destroyed in the fire.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Edison Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office Fatal Unit, which investigates any incident with a fatality.

The identities of the family were not released.

Residents reported seeing helicopters in the area; township officials said they were from television news outlets.

Images submitted to Patch and used with permission