Fire Tears Through Middletown Home Early Sunday

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — This home in the Navesink section of Middletown was badly damaged by a fire that broke out early Sunday morning; the fire started in the home's rec room, said the Middletown Fire Department.

The first call of the fire came in at 6:45 a.m. Sunday for a home on the 600 block of Locust Point Road.

When Middletown Police and the first volunteer firefighters arrived, there was at first a concern someone was trapped inside the home. However, minutes later it was learned all residents had been able to safely escape. Firefighters found heavy black smoke and flames coming from the front windows of the home.

Chief John Waltz and Chief Anthony Fulcinetti arrived on scene and began fire suppression operations, as Middletown Fire Chief John Friedmann arrived and set up incident command.

The home had a very long driveway to connect to the nearest hydrant in the street.

The home sustained heavy smoke and fire damage to the recreation room located on the first floor, however smoke and heat damage throughout the entire structure was significant.

The fire was declared under control by Chief Friedmann at 7:26 a.m. All units were cleared from the scene at 8:30 a.m.

No firefighter injuries were reported while operating at the scene.

The following all-volunteer Middletown fire companies responded: Navesink MTFD Station 1, Community Fire Company Station 4, Brevent Park MTFD Station 2, Belford Independent MTFD Station 7, River Plaza MTFD Station 9, and the Middletown Safety, Air Unit, Police and Monmouth County Fire Marshal’s Office.

The exact cause of the fire is being investigated by the Middletown Township Fire Marshall’s office.

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