South Brunswick Police ID Man Killed in Fire

South Brunswick, NJ - South Brunswick Police have identified the man who died in a fire Friday afternoon at the Wynwood condo complex in Kendall Park, officials announced Monday morning.

John Doran, 59, has been identified as the man who firefighters found unconscious and not breathing inside the first-floor condo unit where the fire originated. Doran lived in the two-bedroom townhouse at 27 Deerberry Lane with his sister, who was not home when the blaze broke out, police said. Firefighters arrived on the scene at 2:45 p.m. Friday and worked quickly to extinguish the fire. However, when the smoke cleared, they found Doran’s body lying on the floor in the living room. That room also appears to be where the fire started, according to reports.

Doran suffered from several medical conditions and had limited mobility, police said.

The Middlesex County Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy over the weekend and the official cause of death is pending additional test results.

The cause of the fire is accidental, officials said Monday. A neighbor in an nearby unit called 911 Friday when she smelled smoke, and when firefighters arrived, the fire had already been burning for some time, police said. The fire created extensive damage to Doran’s unit, but the other 10 units in the complex were not affected, police said.

Firefighters, did, however, detect dangerous levels of carbon monoxide in a number of the adjacent townhouses. It took several hours for firefighters to ventilate those residences. All residents were allowed back into their homes by 7 p.m. Friday.