At just past 10:40 a.m. on Wednesday, April 12, Cherry Hill, N.J. firefighters responded to a reported house fire.
The fire was called in by two neighbors reporting a severe smoke condition from the dwelling on fire.
Ladder 44, Squad 13 and Squrt 31, who had just taken up from another emergency call in the area, arrived within two minutes from dispatch and reported a heavy smoke condition in the front of the house.
After investigating all sides of the dwelling they also reported that a large volume of fire was discovered in the rear of the dwelling.
The fire -- which originated in the front living room on the first floor of this two-story home -- was quickly spreading throughout the rest of the first floor and to the upper floor as firefighters initiated their attack.
Firefighters simultaneously deployed a one and three-fouths-inch-hand line to attack the fire, and another one and three-fouths-inch-hand line as a back-up line.
Ladder 44's crew initiated search and rescue for any occupants who may have been in the house and began ventilation.
A complete search of the dwelling, including the use of infrared cameras, revealed that there were no occupants in the dwelling.
The intense heat condition and accompanying black smoke, which was throughout the entire house, completely obscured the vision of interior teams.
Ladder 24 arrived and assisted Ladder 44 in opening up remaining windows and doors to ventilate the harsh smoke condition to give interior firefighters better visibility and relieve the intense heat.
Thirty Cherry Hill firefighters quickly brought this fire under control within twenty minutes. Because of the heavy amount of original fire, firefighters also opened up all the walls and ceilings in each of the rooms suffering fire damage to check for extension.
Heavy smoke and heat damage was encountered throughout the entire dwelling.
Chief Giorgio remarked, "A quick response and exceptional teamwork by the first arriving crews resulted in this fire being placed under control in about 20 minutes. As it turned out, the fire had a long time to grow unnoticed and damaged most of the rooms, affecting this family's entire home."
The family of four is displaced from their home, and is making arrangements to stay with nearby family.
There were no reported injuries to civilians or emergency workers at this incident, although the family's pet dog was lost due to the heavy smoke and heat.
The fire is under investigation by the Cherry Hill Fire Marshal's Office. It was noted that there was evidence the fire may have had almost an hour and half to grow undetected while no one was at home.
Subsequently, the room of origin suffered extensive fire damage.
