Community Rallies To Help Howell Family After Fire Destroyed Home

HOWELL, NJ — Friends and neighbors of a Howell Township family are continuing to help a family of five after a fire destroyed their home last week.

The fire on Silversmith Court in the Glen Arden section left the Golczewski family — parents Gary and Jennifer and three daughters ages 2-1/2, 6, and 10 — with the clothing they were wearing at the time of the fire, according to posts on the Howell Happenings NJ Facebook page.

The Howell Happenings adminstrators said the response has been overwhelming and the family has received plenty of clothing, but those wishing to help are urged to contribute gift cards to help them with the costs of a place to stay, furniture and meals while they are staying in a hotel.

Gift cards can be dropped off at 18 Silversmith Court, which is the home of a neighbor who initially organized the efforts to help the family, the administrators said.

Gift cards to all kinds of restaurants and stores are welcomed, the page administrators said.

The outpouring of support prompted a post from Chrissy Scafidi, Jennifer Golczewski, on the page, thanking the community: "I am so grateful for the tremendous outpouring of help, donations, care and concern, support and hospitality from everyone on the block and in the town!! Everyone stepped up as a community in the most amazing way I have ever seen!! ... I hope you all know as a community that there are no words big enough to exppress the love and gratitude that stems from my heart!!"

The fire was determined to be accidental, Detective Sgt. Christian Antunez said. Howell Police Communications received the call about the fire at 9:13 p.m. on May 31 and when Patrolmen Peter Hochhauser, Nicholas Austin and John Barroqueiro Jr. arrived minutes later, the house was fully engulfed. The family had noticed the fire and fled the home unharmed, Antunez said.

Because the fire was large and there was a risk of it spreading, residents of neighboring homes were immediately evacuated, he said. It took firefighters 45 minutes to bring it under control, he said.

There were no injuries, Antunez said.

According to the Howell Happ

The fire remained under investigation but the preliminary findings suggested the fire may have started in the garage as a result of an improperly discarded cigarette, Antunez said. The fire spread quickly throughout the home, destroying most of the home as well as its contents, in addition to a 2017 Ford Escape parked in the driveway in front of the garage.

Antunez said firefighters from Southard, Adelphia, Freewood Acres, Ramtown and Jackson Station 55 fire companies responded, as did the Howell Police Investigations Unit, the Howell Fire Bureau, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, the Monmouth County Fire Marshal’s Office, Howell Office of Emergency Management, Howell Police EMS, Howell First Aid and Ramtown First Aid.

Photo via Howell Township Police Department