Willingboro Firefighters responded to two house fires in less than an hour on Tuesday, July 6th. The fires occurred in the Twin Hills and Millbrook Park sections of town. Not only did the firefighters have to contend with the fires, they also had to deal with temperatures of over 100 degrees. The department was assisted by other departments from outside of Willingboro at both of the fires.
At 4:02 pm the department was sent to 119 Tiffany Lane for a reported house fire. Chief Burnett arrived and found smoke coming from the roof area of the home. Engine 1613 was diverted from a downed wire call that was being handled by Brush Truck 1627 to the house fire, and arrived five minutes after being called to the fire. The fire had started in an outside air conditioner unit which caught some mulch and bushes on fire before spreading to the house.
Upon arriving on scene Firefighter Friddell and Captain Gardner went into the attic and found a small fire and heavy smoke. They quickly extinguished the fire with a water filled fire extinguisher. Firefighters from Mount Laurel and Westampton were on the outside removing the vinyl siding and making sure the fire was extinguished. The area outside of the house was hosed down using a 1" hoseline. The side of the home suffered significant damage. Chief Burnett placed the fire under control at 4:22 pm, and the fire was investigated by the Burlington County Fire Marshal's Office.
While at the incident on Tiffany Lane, another fire was called in for 63 Marboro Lane at 4:43 pm. Beverly Chief 1200 along with Brush Truck 1627, Ladder 1615, Beverly Engine 1224 and Westampton Engine 2721 responded and found a large area of grass on fire behind the house and a downed power line. While attempting to extinguish the grass fire the crews were notified that the house at 63 Marboro was on fire as well.
The crews started to check the home and found two areas on fire at the front corners of the house. Chief 1200 called for additional units due to the two fires at the same location and the high outside temperatures. The crews opened up the burning areas on the inside and outside of the house and completely extinguished the areas that were burning. The crews also found a light smoke condition inside and were able to remove the smoke from the house.
The incident was controlled at 5:30 and was investigated by the Burlington County Fire Marshal's Office. It was found the grass fire was caused by the broken power line. Part of the line then fell onto a cable line and energized it which caused the two small fires in the house. Additional EMS units were called to check the health of the residents and firefighters, and the American Red Cross was called to help find temporary housing for the residents of 63 Marboro Lane. All units were cleared from the scene by Chief Burnett at 6:49 pm.
Units:
Chief 1600, Engine 1613, Ladder 1615, Utility 1616, Fire Police 1618, and Ambulance 1694
Mutual Aid:
119 Tiffany Lane - Mount Laurel Battalion Chief 3620 and Quint 3614, Westampton Engine 2721, and Burlington County Fire Marshal.
63 Marboro Lane - Beverly Chief 1200, Engine 1224 and Ambulance 1293, Westampton Engine 2721, Delran Engine 2311 and 2391, Delanco Engine 1114, Florence Engine 4013, and Burlington County Fire Marshal
