NORTH BRUNSWICK -- A three-alarm blaze destroyed a two-family home on Cozzens Lane, leaving the top-floor resident and a family of five homeless.
No one was injured, but the family's dog died in the fire, police said.
The fire at 1015 Cozzens Lane, on the corner of Route 1, was called in by several motorists shortly after 5 p.m.
No one was in the home when the fire broke out, said Lt. Joseph Battaglia of the North Brunswick Police Department.
When Glenn Micale, chief of North Brunswick Volunteer Fire Company 1, arrived, flames were roaring out the windows of three sides of the two-story, wood-frame structure.
"The first report we had was that no one was in the building. Then we heard there might be a child in a rear bedroom," he said.
Firefighters entered the burning building to search for that child, but found no one. By then, flames engulfed the roof and they were ordered out.
Beth Caruso, who lived upstairs in the two-family home, went briefly to run an errand, and when she returned, she saw her house ablaze. She doubts that anything in the house is salvageable.
"It's the stuff you can't replace, like photo albums," Caruso said through tears.
About 50 firefighters from the three township companies, New Brunswick, Milltown, Franklin Park and East Brunswick battled the blaze. South River, East Brunswick and East Franklin fire companies manned firehouses as backup.
The stubborn fire took close to an hour and a half to extinguish. It was declared under control about 6:30 p.m. although smoke was still rising from the charred shell of the home last night, Micale said.
A section of Cozzens Lane was closed until the fire was entirely put out, North Brunswick Fire Chief Matt Levine said.
Investigators believe the fire started in the basement, Micale said. But the home must be razed by a bulldozer before the probe can begin.
Micale said it appears the fire was accidental. The homeowner was in the home 15 minutes before it was reported, he said.
Caruso's cousin, Sara Eland, who lived in the basement of the two-family home with her boyfriend and three children, was coming home from work when she became aware of the fire. Eland's boyfriend told her oldest son, Cody, 13, who was staying at his aunt's house, not to come to their destroyed home.
"He's freaking out about the dog," Eland said of her mixed-breed dog, Mercy, who was in the basement at the time and perished in the fire. Her other children, 4-year-old Jalan and 5-month-old Mason, also are staying with family.
Eland said everything she owns — a crib, beds, food, clothing — is gone, and she is worried because Cody starts school in a few weeks.
"I'm shocked more than anything," Eland said.
Both families planned on staying with Caruso's father, Caruso said.
Neighbors and other bystanders looked somber as they saw the last of the fire being put out. Some were approaching Caruso and Eland, offering condolences and assistance.
Linda Visconti of Apache Street heard sirens close to her home at around 5:30 p.m. last night and ran over to see black smoke. She and her daughter, 12-year-old Jessica Del Rio, brought bottles of water to the firefighters, and helped out any way they could. Jessica goes to Linwood Middle School with Cody.
Visconti, whose family once owned the house, said there were "a lot of memories in this house. . . . It's just very sad that it happened to this family, this neighborhood."
Eland's day-care provider, Mira Maziane of Somerset, who takes care of Jalan and Mason, said she dropped off the boys with Eland's family. She's known the family over a year.
"I feel so sad, I'm offering any help, as much help as I can," she said.
Republished with permission from Home News Tribune
