5 A.M. Blaze In Belford Spreads To 2 Nearby Homes

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — A shed fire that started due to gasoline spread to multiple nearby homes early Wednesday morning in the Belford section of Middletown.

The call of the fire first came in at 5:14 a.m. on the 800 block of Main Street in Belford, according to Dennis Fowler, Middletown Fire Dept. spokesman.

The all-volunteer Middletown Fire Department was dispatched to a call of a shed fire, reportedly close to a neighbor’s house, with gasoline reported in the shed by the homeowner.

The first arriving Middletown Police patrolman confirmed the shed fire and that fire was spreading to nearby exposures. Middletown Fire Dept. Second Assistant Chief Anthony Fulciniti directed the first arriving engines.

The flames spread to two more homes next door, plus a fence: A nearby two-story residential house on Maple Avenue caught fire and the exterior siding of a second home caught fire, as was another neighbor’s vinyl fence.

The two homes that caught fire sustained heavy damage. The shed where the fire started was destroyed, as was the fence.

The fire was placed under control by MTFD Chief Bernie Chenoweth at 5:35 a.m. All units were cleared from the scene at 7:08 a.m.

Approximately 20 firefighters from three companies of the Middletown Township Fire Department responded to the call from Belford Engine, Belford Independent and Port Monmouth Fire companies.