Woodbridge Firefighters Save Elderly Man Trapped In Fire

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Woodbridge firefighters ran inside a burning condo Saturday afternoon and saved an elderly man who was screaming for help from his upstairs bedroom, according to fire officials.

The fire broke out at 12:26 p.m. Saturday at a condo on Highview Drive, in the Highview Manor condo association in Woodbridge. EMS crews and neighbors told firefighters they could hear screams for help coming from inside the home.

The 83-year-old man who lives there with his family has difficulty walking and is also hard of hearing; he was alone in the house when the fire started, said Capt. Keith Repace of the Woodbridge fire department. He was unable to get out of his second-floor bedroom.

"EMS got there first; they heard someone screaming from the second floor," said Repace. "The elderly man had called his daughter for help. She wasn't home, so she called neighbors and they told us he was inside."

Firefighters ran into the condo, which was filled with smoke, and found the man lying on his bed upstairs. They pulled the man to safety and he was taken to JFK Medical Center in Edison, where he was admitted for smoke inhalation, said Repace.

No firefighters required medical treatment.

The fire had originated in the other bedroom on the second floor.

"Its exact cause is undetermined but we can't rule out that there was a shrine of some sort, for prayers in the morning," said Repace. "The fire started in the area of the shrine."

Firefighters contained the area to the upstairs bedroom; the rest of the condo was spared and no other units were damaged.