3-Alarm Fire Damages Apartment Building In South Brunswick

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — An overnight, three-alarm fire heavily damaged an entire apartment building in South Brunswick, police said.

The blaze broke out at the Royal Oaks Apartment Complex off Route 1, and was reported around 12:25 a.m., early Friday morning.

Twelve people, from ages 10 to 65 have been displaced, police said. Four apartments were damaged in the blaze.

South Brunswick Police officers arrived within minutes of the call and found heavy fire at the rear of the apartment building. Officers and neighbors knocked on all the doors of the apartment building to make sure residents were evacuated.

The homeowner of the apartment where the fire originated told officers she woke up because she heard yelling outside her home. The resident said the people were yelling that her home was on fire. She saw the glow of the fire at the rear of the home and immediately ran out, police said.

Monmouth Junction Fire Chief Scott Smith arrived within minutes and reported a working structure fire in the rear of a 10-unit apartment building on Buttonwood Court.

Firefighters immediately initiated an exterior attack on the fire in the rear of the building to knock down the rapidly spreading fire.

Additional firefighters entered the building to continue attacking the fire and perform searches for any residents who were possibly still inside. The fire caused extensive damage to the building, spreading throughout the concealed spaces between the floors and in the attic.

The fire was under control just before 2 a.m., with firefighters remaining on the scene until after 4:30 a.m. looking for and extinguishing hot spots.

There were no injuries to residents or firefighters.

"We are extremely fortunate that there were no injuries or fatalities caused by the fire. Given the time of night, when many people are sleeping, this incident could have very easily had a tragic ending,” Fire Chief Smith said.

“Our firefighters did an amazing job bringing this fire under control. There was a tremendous volume of fire on arrival, and firefighters were able to contain the fire to the area in the center of the building through a great deal of hard work."

More than 60 firefighters from 11 fire departments responded to the 3-alarm fire. All three South Brunswick Township Fire Departments (Monmouth Junction, Kendall Park & Kingston) responded, as well as firefighters from Brookview, Franklin Park, North Brunswick, Jamesburg, Plainsboro, Montgomery, Monroe, and Pennington. Ambulances from Monmouth Junction, Monroe, Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, and North Brunswick responded.

"Four of the apartments in the building were heavily damaged and residents were unable to return to them. The residents all indicated they would be staying with family elsewhere in the area. Twelve people were displaced," South Brunswick Police Chief / OEM Coordinator Raymond Hayducka said.

"I have to give thanks to the unidentified neighbors who yelled to wake the homeowner up. Their actions saved the resident's life."

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

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