Contributed by: CBrining
Egg Harbor Township - A house in the Cardiff section was destroyed in a fire early Thursday morning.
The flames started at about 1:30 a.m. in the garage - which was converted into a den - and spread to the middle of the house and burned the roof of the structure the 100 block of West Avenue, Cardiff Fire Chief Tom Sweeny said.
Sweeny said 18 firefighters fought the blaze, which took 15 minutes to get under control. The firefighters stayed until 5:20 a.m. to clean up and assist the invigorators. No one was at home during the fire and no one was hurt. It was unclear what started the fire.
The Cardiff Volunteer Fire Company got help from the Northfield, Bargaintown and Farmington fire companies. The blaze is being investigated by Township Fire Inspector Don Stauffer, Sweeny said.
The charred house, which still had a burning smell Thursday afternoon, was marked off with yellow police tape.
The homeowner, Yovani Rivera, said in an afternoon phone interview that he was at Harrah's Resort with his two roommates at the time of the fire. The house was for sale, and Rivera found out about the fire from a phone call.
Rivera said he was very upset by the fire. He and one of his roommates had initially stayed at Harrah's Resort, while his third roommate went to stay with his girlfriend.
Elwood Fire Rescue
https://www.evfc160.com/main/article.php/2009052215114166