Fire Quickly Extinguished In South Brunswick

July 7, 2022

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ (MIDDLESEX)–On Tuesday, July 5, 2022, at 8:44 a.m., the Monmouth Junction Fire Department and South Brunswick Police were dispatched to 404 Samuel Court in Dayton Center for a report of smoke coming from a barbecue on a balcony. Police officers arrived within minutes and observed smoke coming from the roof line of a one-story section of the 4-unit building and immediately started evacuating the residents. Chief Scott Smith of the Monmouth Junction Fire Department arrived and immediately requested the first alarm, bringing the Kingston and Kendall Park Fire Departments to the scene to assist. Firefighters were able to bring the fire under control in approximately 20 minutes but remained on location until 10:30 a.m. extinguishing hot spots.

“This was a challenging fire as we had to use saws and hand tools to open the decking of the second-floor balcony, as well as the walls and ceiling of the unit below the balcony in order to expose and extinguish the fire, which must have been smoldering unnoticed for some time. We are fortunate that the fire was relatively contained and discovered during the day, and not when residents were sleeping,” said Chief Smith.

Six fire trucks and 30 firefighters responded to the fire. South Brunswick EMS responded, and there were no injuries.

Preliminary indications are the fire was caused by old charcoals from a barbecue the night before. The fire is under investigation by the South Brunswick Township Fire Safety Bureau.