Emergency responders wheel a victim from the rear of the house at 249 Shrewsbury Avenue in Red Bank as smoke pours from the working house fire. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
A fire victim sustained “severe burns” before being rescued by firefighters who pulled him from a second-story window as flames tore through a home on Shrewsbury Avenue Tuesday morning. One firefighter was hospitalized for symptoms of heat stroke.
Firefighters attempted to cool down as the Red Bank Fire Department battled a house fire at 249 Shrewsbury Avenue as temperatures soared past 100 degrees. (photo by Brian Donohue)
Firefighters responding to the 10:10 am call found the male victim trapped in a second-floor bedroom and partially hanging out a window in the rear of the house, at 249 Shrewsbury Avenue, Red Bank Fire Department Chief Frank Woods said. Downstairs, firefighters who broke down the front door found flames engulfing the front living room and dining rooms on the first floor.
Firefighters pulled the victim through the window and down a ladder to the ground, where EMTs placed him on a stretcher and he was taken to Count Basie Fields, where he was flown to a hospital by New Jersey State Police helicopter.
A member of the volunteer fire department was also taken to Riverview Medical Center with symptoms of heat exhaustion and possible smoke inhalation, Woods said, identifying her only as a female “generational” firefighter whose father and brother have both served on the department.
“I can’t be more proud of these guys,” Woods said of the firefighters, who fought the blaze in full gear as temperatures soared towards 100 degrees. “We’re very fortunate today, we didn’t lose more firefighters due to the severity of the heat and the conditions today.”
Woods said the department had to “cycle through” firefighters and was quick to call for mutual aid from the Middletown Fire Department due to the heat.
“We couldn’t thank our mutual aid departments more,” he said.
Wood said he had no information on the extent of the victim’s injuries.
The cause of the fire is yet undetermined and remains under investigation by the Monmouth County Fire Marshall Woods said.
The initial call from dispatchers reported the address of the fire as 247 Shrewsbury Avenue. Woods said that was the address from which the fire at 249 was reported.
The home is listed on deeds as being owned by Charles Dillard and Ardenia Clayton, who inherited the home from the estate of Algia Dillard in 2010, according to deeds recorded with Monmouth County.
Algia and his late wife, Mary Dillard, who died in 2015 at age 97, were well-known members of the community. Mary Dillard worked in the Red Bank Public Schools and her obituary reads in part, “She is remembered by her former students as they stopped by to visit on her porch to receive life lessons, pleasant conversation, and loving guidance.”
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
