Early Morning Fire Damages Home and Burns Two Residents

An early morning house fire caused significant damage to a Garfield Park home and sent both residents to the hospital with burns. The department was sent to 58 Garrison Circle at 5:37 am on Friday, July 23rd. As Engine 1613 and Ladder 1615 approached Levitt Parkway on JFK Way, Captain Sitzenstock noticed a large column of smoke coming from Garfield Park. Both units arrived on scene at 5:42 am and found heavy fire coming from the garage of the home.

Captain Sitzenstock took Command of the incident and had Firefighters Costello and Blackwell pull a 2 1/2" handline to start extinguishing the fire. The roof of the garage was completely burned off and the side wall was starting to collapse. The crews were also concerned with the possibility of the home next door catching on fire. Most of the fire in the garage was extinguished in less than 10 minutes, therefore limiting the damage to the neighboring home.

After assisting with connecting a 5" supply line from a hydrant on Grayson Circle, Firefighters Rogers and LeHuquet fom Engine 1632 entered the home with a 1 3/4" handline to extinguish fire that had gotten into the main attic of the home. They were assisted by Firefighter C. Clark from Ladder 1615 as he opened up windows to let out the smoke and heat that was in the home. A crew from Westampton and Mount Laurel entered with an additional 1 3/4" handline to assist with extinguishing the remaining fire and to search for any persons that may have still been in the home.

Chief of Department Burnett arrived on the scene and took over Command of the incident. He was able to place the fire under control at 6:10 am. The chief requested two units from out of town to stand-by at Fire Headquarters in case of other incidents in Willingboro. A Squirt from Delran and a Ladder from Burlington City were on stand-by in Willingboro.

Most of the home was destroyed by the fire and a determination will be made at a later time by the Willingboro Township Building Construction Office as to whether or not the home will have to be demolished. The neighboring home did suffer damage to its vinyl siding, but was determined to still be in a livable condition. Two occupants of the home were taken to Lourdes Medical Center in Willingboro and then transferred to Temple Burn Unit in Philadelphia for treatment of burns. They were released in the early afternoon and were being assisted with temporary housing by the American Red Cross.

The fire was investigated by the Burlington County and New Jersey State Fire Marshal's Offices, and no cause of the fire has been determined at this time. Willingboro Firefighters remained on scene to assist the fire marshals. All units were cleared from the scene at 2:07 pm.