ABSECON - A house was gutted early Wednesday morning by a fire that officials and neighbors say spread quickly. The blaze started while a 6-month-old baby and four adults were sleeping at a home in the 800 block of Marlborough Avenue, police said.
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Firefighters arrived to find the family safely out of the house. Flames had engulfed half of the three-bedroom ranch-style home, including the garage and an addition in progress, police Chief Butch Stewart said.
It took firefighters 40 minutes to control the blaze, which also lit a pile of firewood 40 feet away and melted the siding off the house next door. The baby and mother rushed there after evacuating to call 911, Stewart said.
Firefighter Joseph Marrone, 31, was trapped when the ceiling over the living room and kitchen collapsed, but fellow firefighters quickly extracted him from the rubble, Stewart said.
Marrone was treated for related neck and back pain at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, Mainland Campus in Galloway Township, according to Stewart and the statement.
He was released Wednesday and is recovering at home, Stewart said.
Neighbor Mike Carrera, 25, said the banging on his front door awoke him to an orange glow outside.
"It was already to the point where you'd need to get out (of the house)," he said. "I think we were lucky because it had rained and the trees were wet. If they'd been drier, the fire could have spread to the trees or our house."
Investigators stayed on the scene until past 1:30 p.m., Carrera said later as he stood next to the charred house bounded with yellow police tape.
"It's sad, you know? They just moved in less than a year ago," he said.
Police said the family is staying with a relative. Police declined to name the residents because they have not yet completed the investigation.
Absecon Emergency Medical Services treated two other firefighters at the scene, police said.
The residents will stay with friends and get help from the Atlantic County chapter of the American Red Cross, according to the statement.
Police have not yet determined the cause of the fire. They have asked that anyone with information call 609-641-0667.
The Absecon Fire Department was assisted at the scene by the Bayview Fire Company, while the Pleasantville Fire Department covered the Absecon Fire Station, police said.
The Atlantic County Emergency Medical Services Rehab Task Force and ambulances from Galloway and Egg Harbor Township also responded.
