"On The Job"

With I.A.F.F. Local 2958

AT LEAST 8 DISPLACED FOLLOWING NORTH PLAINFIELD HOUSE FIRE

NJ.COM  – 12/27/2011 - No one was hurt in an attic fire this morning at a multi-family home on Jackson Avenue, but eight to 10 residents are now temporarily homeless, a North Plainfield fire official said.

Fire Capt. Allen Smith said the American Red Cross is helping the displaced residents, whose homes on the building’s two other floors became uninhabitable because of water damage.
 
The fire was reported after occupants on the second floor smelled smoke, Smith said. The flames were contained to the unoccupied attic, he said.

An attic fire in a North Plainfield home has left ten people temporarily homeless. There were no injuries in the fire that was contained to the attic.

Police evacuated the residents as fire crews arrived to the scene, and firefighters from the borough, Plainfield and Watchung scrambled to put the flames under control within a half-hour, Smith said.

The cause is under investigation, but foul play is not suspected, according to authorities.

OFF DUTY NORTH PLAINFIELD CAPTAIN PULLS 2 PEOPLE FROM STRUCTURE FIRE

1st RESPONDER BROADCAST NETWORK- On Friday August 24, 2007 at about 6:15 pm Captain Smith was off duty at home when a call came in for a structure fire 2 blocks from his home. County dispatch stated it was a structure fire with entrapment. Allen responded from his home, arriving before any emergency services were on scene. He saw a civilian running across the street with a ladder and identified himself as an off duty firefighter.

Told there were 2 elderly people trapped on the second floor, Allen climbed the ladder to an unprotected porch roof and entered the home through the front second floor window. In street clothing with heavy fire showing on the B-Bravo side on the house, Allen found a woman in the living room of the second floor and got her to the window and assisted her out the window to the roof where a neighbor helped her down the ladder.

He was told there was another person still inside. He re-entered the house with conditions rapidly getting worse, began his search for the second person. As he crawled towards the rear bedroom the room became fully engulfed, then he saw a flicker from a flashlight. He crawled towards it and found an elderly gentleman in a crouched position in a doorway. As he grabbed for the person, obviously scared and confused the gentleman hit Allen in the face with the flashlight knocking him back. Allen then grabbed a hold of the person and dragged him to the window and a police officer pulled him out to safety. Allen did in fact save the lives of these 2 people putting his own life at risk.

North Plainfield Firefighters Battle a Stubborn Blaze on Mountain Avenue. Click on the Image Above for Video from the Incident.