Deputy Chief Frank Woods during the firefighting effort Wednesday morning. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A fire that displaced two Red Bank families from their homes Wednesday morning was caused by a halogen light fixture in a closet, redbankgreen has learned.
A Christmas decoration damaged by the heat and smoke. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
The blaze, at the Greentree Apartments on Spring Street, was sparked by a halogen light coming into contact with combustible material in a closet, said Fire Marshal Tommy Welsh.
Halogen bulbs, because they generate intense heat, “you don’t want them in a closet,” said Welsh. “Not that they’re dangerous as an appliance, but any combustible they come into contact can be readily ignited.”
Reported shortly before 10:30 a.m., the fire left two apartments in the complex’s building E uninhabitable, said Welsh: the first-floor unit in which the fire began, which was damaged by flames, smoke and water, and the unit above it, which had smoke damage.
The Red Cross has assisted the two impacted families in finding temporary accommodations, he said.
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