Community Mourns Man Killed In Burlington County House Fire

FLORENCE TOWNSHIP, NJ — The community is mourning the death of a beloved pastor who was killed in an early morning house fire in Burlington County early Tuesday morning.

A man identified by multiple news outlets as 77-year-old Robert Comisky was killed when a fire broke out at his Florence Township home early Tuesday morning. Two other people suffered minor injuries. Neighbor Charles Russell told 6 ABC Comisky was “just a guy with a good heart.”

"I wish I could have did something," neighbor Charles Russell told CBS 3. "I would have kicked in the doors if it would have been possible. By the time I seen it, the flames were shooting out the window."

Comisky was confined to a wheelchair. His ex-wife told Fox 29 that he had become paralyzed after leaping over a chain-link fence while chasing a burglar in 1991. His Facebook profile lists him as a volunteer Seventh-Day Adventist Pastor who was from Trenton and earned a Master's Degree in communications from the University of Maryland.

NBC 10 reported that he had lived in the home for 15 years. His daughter had just moved in with him to help out.

His daughter was hospitalized with minor injuries as a result of Tuesday morning's fire. A third person escaped the fire uninjured, according to Florence Township police. The house consisted of two apartments, and the other person lived in the rear apartment, according to 6 ABC.

Despite media reports identifying Comisky, police have not yet identified the victim.

Comisky had help around the house before his daughter moved in. Neighbor Bill Lee told The Burlington County Times Comiksy had multiple sclerosis. Lee would help Comisky with his yard work and with getting in and out of his car. Lee had an easement to build a shed on part of his neighbor's land. Neighbors said Comisky was always willing to help other people.

The fire broke out at about 2 a.m. on Amboy Avenue in Florence Township, according to police. Flames were coming through the front door and windows when police arrived.

Firefighters entering the home found one person deceased, according to the Florence Township Police Department. Two others suffered minor injuries, and firefighters were able to extinguish the fast-moving blaze.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Florence Township Fire Marshall's Office, the Florence Township Police Department's Fire Investigation Team, the Burlington County Fire Marshall's Office and the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office.