TOMS RIVER – Firefighters saved the lives of a tenant and a cat when a fire broke out at a local apartment complex last week.
On June 26, Toms River Police and fire crews responded to Apartment 24 in Harbor Front Condos after a fire broke out. Once on the scene, officers observed black smoke emanating from an upstairs apartment and a female covered in black soot sitting on the front step.
Witnesses Lundyn Corbin of South Toms River and Javier Vargas of Toms River told police that they noticed the fire while walking through the courtyard.
According to authorities, “they observed black smoke and fire coming from the apartment. They immediately entered the building and began banging on apartment doors advising the neighbors to exit.”
When the men made it to the upstairs apartments, they noticed a woman standing in a doorway confused. They then guided the woman from her apartment to the front stoop and called 911.
Crews from Station 25 Toms River Fire Co. 1, Station 26 Toms River Fire Co. #2, Station 28 East Dover Fire Company, Station 29 Silverton Fire Company, Station 30 Pleasant Plains Fire Company, and Station 53 Island Heights responded.
While attempting to extinguish the blaze, firefighters rescued a cat from the apartment but it wasn’t breathing. Firefighters quickly administered CPR on the cat, saving its life.
The tenant was transported to a local hospital for possible smoke inhalation. No other injuries were reported.
According to Charles Bauer of Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention, the fire was accidental, caused by unattended cooking. Inspector Bauer deemed the apartment uninhabitable.
