The Maplewood Fire Department responded to two fires in Maplewood on Saturday evening, August 20, 2016 — a house fire on Burnett Avenue and a smaller fire in Aisle 4 of the Dollar Tree store on Springfield Avenue.
The first fire took place Saturday evening around 7 p.m.
The Maplewood Fire Department responded to the Dollar Tree store located at 1713 Springfield Avenue for a reported “extinguished fire with a smoke condition” at 7:11 p.m.
“Upon arrival, fire alarms were sounding, people were evacuating the store and a heavy smoke condition existed inside the store,” the FD reported in a release. “Firefighters entered the store and found evidence of a fire inside a box along with other combustibles in aisle #4.”
“The store manager was alerted of the situation after they heard someone yell ‘fire’. An assistant manager of the store was able to grab a dry chemical fire extinguisher in the store and extinguish the fire before it spread further. Firefighters overhauled the area to ensure the fire was completely out and then ventilated the store using two electric fans.”
The fire department reported that a box with its contents was burned along with another box containing wrapping paper.
While still on the scene at the Dollar Store, the Maplewood Fire Department was dispatched at 7:38 p.m. for a reported structure fire on Burnett Avenue.
“Rescue 36 was returning from an EMS assignment and was the first to arrive on scene and reported fire showing from the rear of a large multiple-dwelling,” the FD reported in a release. “A working fire was declared and then a second alarm was transmitted due to the size of the structure and the volume of fire present, bringing in mutual aid fire departments from surrounding towns.”
The release continued: “A hand line was stretched to the rear of the home where the bulk of the fire was located. The flames were extinguished quickly, but firefighters gained entry through a side door to check for extension to the interior. Upon further investigation, it was determined that the fire was held to the exterior of the structure. A search of the entire structure was conducted with negative results. Extensive overhaul was needed to ensure all fire was completely extinguished.”
There were no civilian or firefighter injuries at the scene of either fire.
The causes of both fires are being investigated by the Maplewood Fire Department Fire Investigation Team.
The residential fire received mutual aid from Irvington, Millburn, South Orange and Orange fire departments to assist at the fire scene, while West Orange, East Orange and Union fire departments covered Maplewood during the incident.
