Police Lights (Photo: Jason Rojas/Flickr)
An early morning apartment fire that sent four people to the hospital remains under investigation.
The fire was reported at 2:01 a.m. by a resident who called 911 after he escaped from his apartment at the Brick Gardens complex on Old Hooper Avenue, said Brick Police Sgt. Neal Pedersen. Meanwhile, officers were already on the way after an alarm signal had been sent out.
Police and firefighters from the Pioneer Hose and Breton Woods fire companies were first on scene, Pedersen said. Ultimately, the fire would also draw a response from the Herbertsville, Laurelton, Mantoloking, Silverton and Point Pleasant fire companies. The fire was burning in a second story unit of Building 12, Pedersen said, the residents of which were being evacuated by police officers as firefighters attacked the heavy fire in the second floor apartment and vented through the roof to extinguish the blaze.
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According to Pedersen, the original call came in via 911 when the resident of apartment 4 reported he was awakened by a smoke detector going off. The resident reported he observed a fire to the rear of his television located in the living room. He immediately called 911 and left his apartment; he was later transported to the Ocean Medical Center for smoke inhalation, Pedersen said.
Fire damage affected at least four of the apartments in building 12. The building itself, he said, was saved by the quick response of firefighters and a fire separation wall that stopped the fire from spreading further.
Three firefighters suffered minor injuries with two of them being transported to Ocean Medical Center where they were treated and released for non-life threatening injuries.
The fire is being investigated by the Brick Township Police Department Detectives Steinberg and Lash as well as the Brick Township Fire Safety Bureau and the Ocean County Prosecutors Office, said Pedersen.
The Brick Township Police EMS was assisted by surrounding agencies that included, Howell EMS, Lakewood EMS, Point Pleasant Borough, Point Pleasant Beach EMS and South Toms River EMS.
The fire was reported as under control at approximately 3 a.m., however investigators remained on scene to determine the cause of the fire, which has not yet been released.
