Faulty Electrical Strip Sparked Fatal Paramus Fire

PARAMUS, NJ — Authorities have released the identity of the man who died in the house fire on Forest Avenue Monday morning.

David F. Warde Jr., 77, died when a fire broke out at a first floor apartment at 49 Forest Ave., said Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal.

The Paramus Police Department received a call from a second-floor resident in the building that a fire broke out in a first-floor apartment, Grewal said. Family members on the second floor got out of the building.

The Paramus Police department found heavy smoke and fire in the small first floor apartment, Grewal said. The The Fire Department responded and found Warde Jr.'s body in the first-floor apartment. Warde Jr. was single and lived alone.

Grewal said an investigation determined that a faulty electrical power strip in the living room sparked the fire, Grewal said. The residence is uninhabitable.

Authorities continue to investigate the fire.

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