By BRIAN DONOHUE
A Red Bank man pulled by firefighters from his burning home last month remains on life support in a Staten Island hospital, according to his sister. 
The man rescued from a second-story window of his home at 249 Shrewsbury Avenue on the morning of June 24 was identified by his sister as Charles Dillard.
The sister, Ardenia Clayton, said he had sustained burns on over 90 percent of his body and is in stable condition but is intubated and breathing with the help of a ventilator at Staten Island University Hospital.
“The only thing keeping him here is a lot of prayers and his body,” she said adding that her 69-year-old brother has been physically fit and took good care of himself his entire life.
Dillard, Clayton and their two siblings grew up in the home, with their late father owning a barber shop across the street for years, she said. Their mother, Mary Dillard, who died in 2015 at age 97 worked in the Red Bank Public Schools.
Charles Dillard worked for years as an athletic director for the Newark public school system and a gym teacher in Long Branch public schools before retiring in recent years. He lived in the house alone.
The cause of the blaze has not been determined and remains under investigation by the Monmouth County Fire Marshall, according to a spokesperson for the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office.
Clayton said the fire is believed to have started in the first-floor living room. She said she was struck by the outpouring of concern and prayers for her brother since the fire.
“That’s what’s keeping him here, I swear,” she said.
Red Bank Firefighter Brianna Calabrese, who was taken to the hospital and treated for signs of heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation, has fully recovered as back in service, RBFD Chief Frank Woods said.
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.
