Off-Duty Union Beach Cop Saves Woman In Middletown Fire

NORTH MIDDLETOWN, NJ — An off-duty Union Beach police officer, who is also a volunteer Middletown firefighter, ran into a burning home in the North Middletown section Friday morning, and pulled to rescue an elderly woman who was trapped inside, according to the fire department.

The firefighter is Matt Deickmann of Belford Engine Co., who works full time as a detective with Union Beach Police.

It was about 7:50 a.m. Friday. Deickmann was off duty this morning and was returning home from running some errands when he got the call over police radio of a fire on Warren Place.

East Keansburg and Port Monmouth Fire Companies were headed to the scene, but Deickmann got there first, according to James Fenn, the Middletown Fire Department's public information officer.

When he got to the split-level home, he saw heavy dark smoke coming from an open garage door. Getting out of his car, Deickmann said he also noticed a wheelchair in the driveway and without a second thought, he crouched down under the smoke and entered the burning garage.

He saw visible flames coming from the deepest part of the garage, from what was later identified as the laundry/utility room.

As he called out, he could hear a woman’s voice on the other side of a door, just offset from where the fire was burning, said Fenn.

Passing under the flames he opened the door and found the elderly female homeowner. He actually could only see her from the waist down, as her upper body was concealed by heavy black smoke.

Deickmann said he asked the woman if she could walk out with him, but she said that she could not walk without her walker. As conditions quickly deteriorated, Deickmann found the walker and grabbed the woman, said Fenn.

He wanted to guide her up through the stairs of the home, but due to the woman's walking issues, she could not make it up the steps. Instead, he had no choice but to lead her back out through the smoke- and flame-filled garage from which he had come. Deickmann used his own body to block the woman from the heat and flames, according to Fenn.

Arriving Middletown firefighters said they watched as the two emerged from heavy black smoke staggering through the open garage door and onto the driveway.

The woman was treated for smoke inhalation by EMTs that arrived on the scene. Deickmann did not need to be treated.

Middletown Fire Chief John Friedmann said he will be notifying the Middletown Township governing body "in the hopes that Detective Deickmann be publicly recognized for his actions."

"It was an act of heroism and genuine human kindness toward another," said Chief Friedmann.

The home sustained extensive damage, not just to the laundry room and garage but also to the family room, the two bedrooms and kitchen above.

The origin and cause of this fire is under investigation by the Middletown Fire Marshal’s Office, however the fire likely started in the dryer.

"She definitely would not have made it out if he hadn't been there," Fenn told Patch. "She was in a daze and she would have fallen due to the smoke inhalation. If it weren't for him she would not have gotten out."

Be the first to know what's happening in your town and area. Sign up to get Patch emails and don't miss a minute of local and state news: https://patch.com/subscribe