Dog and Cat Die in Monmouth Junction Fire, Firefighter Falls Through Floor

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ - The elderly couple who live on Georges Road left their house to go to church Thursday morning, and then out to breakfast. When they returned, their white Monmouth Junction farmhouse was destroyed by fire and their dog and cat were both dead.

It was a three-alarm blaze that tore through the home Thursday morning, and required all 50 South Brunswick volunteer firefighters, plus mutual aid, to help fight it, said South Brunswick police spokesman Jim Ryan. A person driving by called 911 to report the house was on fire at 9:32 a.m. The first officer arrived and found the first floor of the home filled with smoke. The Monmouth Junction Fire Department arrived and two teams of firefighters entered the home to look for the source of the fire and attempt to locate anyone inside.

Approximately ten minutes into battling the fire, a portion of the first floor gave way and a 27 -year-old Monmouth Junction firefighter fell into the basement. The firefighter radioed a mayday call that he had fallen. The second team was already in the basement and quickly found him and pulled him out.

However, firefighters doing a sweep of the home uncovered the bodies of the cat and dog. Both had died from smoke inhalation. The homeowners, in their 80s, returned home as firefighters were extinguishing the blaze. The fire required all 50 firefighters from all three South Brunswick fire companies, along with several neighboring towns, to be brought under control.

The fire started in the basement and is thought to be started by faulty electrical wiring, Ryan said. It quickly spread to consume the entire home. The couple is in their 80s.

“The firefighter who fell followed his training and immediately radioed his location. The other team moved rapidly to locate and remove him. His rescue is a credit to all the firefighters involved," said Monmouth Junction Fire Chief Scott Smith.

The firefighter was treated at the scene by EMS and released.