By Berit Ollestad and Kevin Coughlin
Morristown firefighters were able to save a Speedwell Avenue rooming house from destruction after a morning fire, which investigators suspect was started by a cigarette, engulfed a rear bedroom in flames on Wednesday.
Firemen at the scene discovered one tenant upstairs who was unaware of the blaze; he scrambled outside to join other boarders who said they had evacuated after hearing the home’s fire alarms.
Adam Berkow, who works for a supermarket, said he thought it was a false alarm at first.
“Then I went upstairs and smelled smoke. I grabbed what I could [computer, phone and some designer bags] and got out,” Berkow said.
Photos by Kevin Coughlin and Berit Ollestad. Please click icon below for captions.
Taxi driver Larry Jones said he was sleeping late after a night shift when he was awakened by the alarms. He said a dozen men rent rooms in the house. After the fire, most of them sat on a sidewalk across the street, awaiting word from town inspectors about when it would be safe to return to the house.
A neighbor, Evilma Rojas, offered bottled water to the displaced men perched in front of her place.
“I saw a little smoke,” she recounted, “and then I saw some guys move the cars.”
The Red Cross was preparing to find temporary accommodations for the tenants. The bedroom where the fire started sustained heavy damage, said Fire Chief Robert Flanagan.
His men got the call at 10:30 am and arrived at 265 Speedwell to find heavy smoke and flames emanating from the back bedroom, he said. The fire spread through the ceiling to a one-story addition, and firefighters had to open the roof.
“It was a great effort by all the guys in knocking down the fire before it could’ve become a lot worse,” Flanagan said. Firefighters extinguished the fire within 30 minutes, he said. No injuries were reported.
Morristown Police were first on the scene, and they were joined by the Morris Township Fire Department, the Morristown Ambulance Squad and the Madison Fire Department Rapid Intervention Crew (RIC). The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office is assisting in the investigation, as it routinely does.
Flanagan said the fire does not appear to be suspicious.
Town records show that 265 Speedwell LLC bought the house in January. The owner’s wife declined to comment at the scene.
Berkow, one of the tenants, said the Red Cross is lodging everyone in a motel on Wednesday night, with the expectation that residents can return to the Speedwell house on Thursday. The man who rented the back bedroom must find a new place, however, because of extensive damage to that room, Berkow related.
I’m glad there were fire alarms installed in the home! These were key for Adam to be able to help save some precious belongings. How soon were these men able to move back in?
Not enough personnel Jeffery.
Why do they need fire departments from neighboring towns? Morristown can’t handle its own stuff?