Fish Tank Fire Damages Townhome

The Livingston Fire Department responded to a fire sparked by a fish tank on Saturday at the Regency Club at Livingston, Fire Chief Christopher Mullin said.

The fire was confined to a bathroom in the townhome on Binghamton Lane but caused extensive smoke damage throughout the home.

The fire department is investigating the blaze but believes it was an accidental electrical fire, Mullin said.

According to the fire report, the homeowner was in the process of cleaning his saltwater aquarium in the bathroom when he left the home for about an hour and a half to run an errand. When he returned, smoke alarms were sounding and the house was full of smoke.

The owner ran upstairs to the bathroom, where the vanity was on fire. Mullin believes the fire had begun about a half hour earlier, “a stubborn, lingering fire” that was contained in the bathroom. The homeowner was able to put out the fire but suffered minor smoke inhalation. He was treated and released at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, Mullin said.

Livingston firefighters arrived on the scene and determined that the fire had not spread beyond the bathroom. Smoke and heat damage, however, was considerable in the master bathroom and water damaged a first floor ceiling in the kitchen. Mullin said the home is uninhabitable.