Monday, February 4, 2013
Causes of fire unclear.
With the assistance of departments from nearby towns, Springfield firefighters were able to keep a fire in an apartment complex from doing significant damage. Springfield Fire Department Deputy Chief Carlo Palumbo said the fire started in a kitchen of a second floor apartment at the Troy Village apartment complex at approximately 8:25 a.m. The homeowner was away during the incident. While the apartment suffered smoke and fire damage, no one was injured in the fire. "The cause of fire appears to be accidental," Springfield Fire Chief James Sanford said. "The Union County Fire Investigation Task Force report is pending." Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the kitchen; Palumbo said that if the fire spread to the attic, the damage …
Friday, December 28, 2012
Firefighters made quick work of fire in a house's garage.
Shortly after 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 27, Springfield firefighters responded to a fire on Garden Oval that started with a parked car and spread to a garage. Springfield Fire Chief James Sanford said at approximately 8:20 p.m., the residents of 59 Garden Oval smelled smoke, checked the house finding a vehicle fire inside their attached garage. An off-duty Fire Captain drove by while the resident tried to get the car out of the garage. The Fire Captain notified the dispatcher and another off-duty Fire Captain living across the street assisted with ensuring that the residents exited the home. The off-duty Captains gave pre-arrival size-up information to the first arriving Engine Company. Witnesses report being able to see the fire and …
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Injuries were minor, state troopers say.
UPDATED: Emergency workers from Springfield, Summit and Berkeley Heights responded to a multi-auto accident on Interstate 78 last night. The accident occurred shortly after 8:30 p.m. at mile marker 38, on the border of Summit and Springfield. The cause of the accident, which reportedly involved a tractor-trailer and eight cars, has not yet been made publicly available. New Jersey State Police said that the injuries sustained in the accident were minor. Summit Fire Department Battalion Chief Richard Locke acted as I-78 command. Firefighters from Springfield provided basic life support care and helped load patients into a Berkeley Heights First Aid Squad ambulance. The fire crews applied absorbent for fluid spilled by some of the vehicles. …
Monday, September 24, 2012
Firefighters noticed mulch fire while fueling at county property.
On Sunday night, Springfield firefighters went looking for fuel and found a fire. According to Springfield Fire Chief James Sanford, on October 23 at 7:30 p.m., Springfield firefighters drove Engine 3 into the Union County storage facility on Shunpike Road for diesel fuel. Engine 3's officer noticed reportedly saw smoke rising from the center of the nearby Union County compost facility. Prior to grinding the material into mulch, the recycling company Reliable Wood had stacked compost into a 20-foot high pile 120 foot long by 60 feet. Sanford said the fire was caused by a heat build-up from within the pile of organic debris during decomposition. Engine 3 firefighters notified the dispatcher and requested additional resources. On the scene…
Monday, June 25, 2012
A fire destroyed the top two floors of a former Springfield First Aid Squad member's home.
On Sunday, June 24, firefighters battled a blaze destroyed the top two floors of a home at 217 North Ave. West, across the street from Dooley Funeral Home in Cranford. Flames could be seen shooting from the roof of the two-and-a-half-story structure at about 6 p.m. as firefighters aimed heavy streams of water at the residence, hoping to bring the fire under control. Across the street, Jeanette Bilson, the owner of the home, sat on a chair next to her family, watching crews from Cranford, Linden, Garwood, Kenilworth, Roselle, Roselle Park and Westfield work to extinguish the blaze. Bilson and her family were not in the home when the fire began to fully engulf the upper floor. According to a post on the Springfield First Aid Squad's facebook…
Monday, April 16, 2012
Residents must be extremely cautious when using barbecue grills, outdoor power equipment, fire pits, candles, and torches this week. Cigarette smokers should dispose of their butts only in trash cans, portable ash trays or car ashtrays.
- AWARENESS
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Monday, April 16, 2012
Editor's Note: The Following is a press release from the Union County Communications office. Union County, NJ – With another week of dry weather ahead, Union County Freeholder Chairman Alexander Mirabella asked all County residents to be extremely cautious when using barbecue grills, outdoor power equipment, fire pits, candles, and torches. “We are an urban area that is not usually subject to forest fire warnings, but these are unusually dry conditions,” said Union County Freeholder Chairman Alexander Mirabella. “Fires can easily start in our parks and wooded areas, and spread to nearby homes. We are asking everyone to be especially vigilant.” Last month a brush fire cropped up in Cranford, an unusual occurrence for Union County. Last week…
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Fire broke out around 7:30 p.m., with firefighters from nearby towns helping to bring it under control.
A heavy fire tore through a two-story woodframe home at 21 Normandie Place in Cranford on Tuesday night. Cranford firefighters responded to the scene of the two-alarm fire at approximately 7:30 p.m. to find the home engulfed in smoke and flames. Westfield firefighters arrived just after 7:30 pm to provide mutual aid. Crews from the nighboring township used a ladder truck to access the roof of the home. Roselle firefighters were also called to assist in efforts to extinguish the blaze. The main body of the fire was reportedly extinguished at about 8:05 p.m. The cause of the fire is unknown.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Fire fighters responded in the wick of time.
The lesson from this story is that you have to put out candles before you go out. Failure to do so can lead to unintended consequences, like panicking the neighbors and attracting fire fighters. On Thursday, March 29, a candle left unattended in a Mountain Ave. apartment set off smoke alarms and cast a flame large enough to prompt a nearby resident to call 911 to report a fire. Springfield fire chief James Sanford said the arriving fire fighters found an orange glow behind a second floor apartment window and smoke detectors ringing. The fire fighters forced the door to the apartment open and found the flaming candle in the room. They extinguished the candle and ventilated the smoke from the room. Sanford said several other unattended …
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Electric fire turns car into heap of ash and metal.
It only took one fallen wire to destroy a luxury car and knock a whole town off its axis. On Friday, July 22 a live power line fell onto a BMW parked near Springfield's Public Library. Because it was an electrical fire involving an active current, Springfield police had to wait until Jersey Central Power & Light cut the power to the area. Nearby businesses and institutions were closed due to lack of power. The once-black BMW was reduced to a twisted pile of metal and ash. Thanks to Patch readers Rod Hernandez and Sam Mardini for submitting pictures and video of the fire.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Car lighted up after live power line fell onto it.
When Michael Hausman told Motor Vehicle Commission employees he was going to need to step outside instead of finishing his paperwork, no one argued. The Springfield resident had a pretty compelling reason for a break: his car was on fire. The black BMW parked outside the apartment complex across the municipal parking lot went up in flames after a power line fell onto it shortly 4 p.m. on Friday, July 22. Witnesses said the block was filled with black smoke from the blaze. The car was empty, and no one was hurt. Though the fire spewed black ash around the area of the fire, it seems it was contained just to the single car. Springfield police and fire responded to the accident, but with electricity still coursing through the wire, emergency …
stephen
1:01 pm on Saturday, October 13, 2012
has the cause been released by the police? more ›