Auto dealer guard charged with arson
Source: The Star-Ledger, July 30, 2005

OLD BRIDGE: A man was being held without bail yesterday on charges he set fire to two Dumpsters at a Route 9 automobile dealership where he was working as a security guard. Timothy Myers, 20, of Sayreville, was arrested at 12:35 a.m. at the Oasis Chevrolet dealership and charged with arson and criminal mischief, police said. Authorities said township police Sgt. George Strader was on duty driving on Route 9 when he saw the fire in the Chevrolet parking lot and saw car taillights moving through the lot. Strader went to the fire at the trash containers, which were behind a concrete wall, and called for assistance, police said. Members of the Madison Park Fire Department extinguished the fire, and township Fire Marshal Brett Schulmeister discovered a flammable liquid had been used to start the blaze around the trash containers. Strader found Myers in a car driving around the dealership, and when he was questioned, Myers told police he never notice the fire. Myers was brought to police headquarters, where he was charged. Myers was being held yesterday at the Middlesex County jail in North Brunswick.

Electrical cord sparks fire in living room
Source: Staff Report/The Star-Ledger, July 27,2005

HIGHLAND PARK - The extension cord of an air-conditioning unit short-circuited Monday night, causing a fire in a North Ninth Avenue house, police said yesterday. The fire was reported about 9:45 p.m. and spread from the air conditioner to the living room. The homeowner told police he unsuccessfully tried to extinguish the fire, police said. No one was injured in the blaze, police said.

SOUTH BRUNSWICK — A family of four was displaced after a five-alarm fire burned for several hours yesterday afternoon and gutted their house on Dunhams Corner Road. Police detective Jim Ryan said the fire may have started from a lit tiki torch on the backyard deck, which had been sprayed for bees earlier in the morning. "We believe somehow, between those two (things), it ignited," Ryan said. The fire quickly spread from the deck to the back of the house and the roof. Battling yesterday's fire was difficult because of the high heat and humidity, Monmouth Junction fire Chief Jim Shear said. He said firemen can only work for eight to 10 minutes in conditions like yesterday's heat. "It's triple the heat on your body with 65 to 70 pounds of gear," Shear said. A 52-year-old South River fireman was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick for heat exhaustion and was listed in stable condition, said Ryan. More than a dozen fire personnel were treated for heat-related problems at the scene by emergency medical teams. Forty firefighters from South Brunswick, Milltown, South River and East Brunswick battled the blaze. A police officer on the scene said the smoke from yesterday's fire could be seen from the New Jersey Turnpike. Gary Wasylyk, who is an employee with East Brunswick township, and his 11-year-old son were home at the time. The son saw the fire on the deck, said Ryan. Wasylyk's wife and 8-year-old son were not home at the time. The family declined to comment yesterday. Fred Tornabene, a contractor working on the home next door, said, "We heard them screaming, "My house, my house!' There was nothing you could do." Shear said when he arrived on the scene, fire had engulfed the back left corner and roof of the home. The family was staying with friends and relatives, Ryan said. Dunhams Corner Road was closed for most of the day while emergency personnel worked at the scene. Ryan said the fire will be ruled accidental. The South Brunswick Police Department and the fire-safety bureau are launching an investigation to verify the cause, Shear said.

Photos: Jody Somers/The Home News Tribune

Woman escapes fire through a window
Source: The Star-Ledger, July 19, 2005

CARTERET: No one was injured yesterday in a Lowell Avenue apartment house fire that started in the basement and caused smoke and heat damage to the first and second floors, officials said. A woman escaped through a second-floor window after fire broke out at 4:30 a.m., police said. The woman told police her two sons had already left the building. Another tenant on the first floor also escaped, police said. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

House fire forces closing of road
Source: The Star-Ledger, July 19, 2005

EAST BRUNSWICK: A house fire on Rues Lane yesterday forced police to close the road between Winton and Rolling roads for two hours. The fire, reported at 12:15 p.m., started in the basement, but flames quickly spread up the outside walls, police Lt. William Krause said. Township firefighters quickly put out the fire, but the house sustained smoke and water damage throughout. No one was home at the time. Krause said the fire may have been caused by an electrical malfunction.