UPDATE: Family Evacuates After Middletown House Fire

A family evacuated before a fire burned their house on Southview Terrace in Middletown on Sunday, authorities said.

The fire, which started in the master bedroom, was determined to be not suspicious, authorities said. The cause is under investigation.

At 8:37 a.m. on Sunday, the Middletown Township Fire Department was dispatched to a smoke condition in the house at 51 Southview Terrace South in the Old Village section of the township, police said.

Approximately 70 firefighters from five companies of the Middletown Township Fire Department - Old Village, Middletown, Belford Independent, Belford Engine, and Community Fire Companies - responded to the scene.

The first arriving Middletown police units observed smoke coming from the side of the chimney on a two-and-a-half story residential structure at that location, police said.

First Assistant Fire Chief Tony Citarella confirmed a working structure fire in the second floor master bedroom. All the residents had evacuated the structure prior to the arrival of the responding emergency units, police said.

Crews from the Old Village Fire Company deployed hose lines through the front door and attacked the fire. The fire extended from the master bedroom through the second floor and into the attic before being extinguished. There was smoke and water damage throughout the house and the residence was deemed to be uninhabitable.

The Red Cross provided emergency shelter for the residents.

The fire was declared under control by 9:10 a.m. The last units left the scene by 11:10 a.m.

There were no reported injuries during the incident.

The fire is being investigated by the Middletown Township Fire Prevention office.

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