Father-Son Victims, Details Revealed In Fatal Fire At New Jersey Home

The details of a fatal fire involving father-and-son victims were revealed Tuesday.

A 68-year-old man was killed and his 89-year-old father was critically injured in a fire at their Old Bridge home early Tuesday. In addition, two firefighters were treated for minor injuries.

Joseph Berna, 68, was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after the fire erupted on the first floor of the Judy Court home he shared with his father, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

The father, whose identity is being withheld at this time, was rushed to The Burn Unit at St. Barnabas Medical Center, where he is listed in critical but stable condition, according to the MCPO.

The father was rescued when two Old Bridge Police officers arrived, grabbed a nearby ladder, and climbed to a second-floor window to retrieve the man from the burning building.

By that time, Old Bridge firefighters arrived and helped carry the injured man to safety.

Two firefighters were taken to Raritan Bay Medical Center, Old Bridge Division, where they were treated for minor injuries and were released.

Police were alerted to the fire at about 1 a.m. and arrived to find the single-family home engulfed in flames.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but is not considered suspicious at this time.

An investigation is under the direction of the Middlesex County Fire Marshal’s Office, the Old Bridge District 3 Bureau of Fire Prevention, the Old Bridge Police Department, and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.

The investigation is active and is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Curt Halas of the Old Bridge Police Department at (732) 721-5600, extension 3202, or Detective Nicholas Chiorello of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-3848.

Fire departments assisting in battling the blaze were identified as the Old Bridge Fire Department, the East Brunswick Fire Department, the Madison Park Fire Department, the Monroe Township Fire Department District 1, the Robertsville Fire Department, and the Spotswood Fire Department.

Photo courtesy of Diana Rocco at WABC7