NJ Mayor, Neighbors Rescue Man From Condo Blaze: Reports

ROSELLE, NJ - A New Jersey mayor and his neighbors have been credited with rescuing an elderly man from an apartment fire early Wednesday morning at Brooklawn Avenue Condominiums, according to multiple reports.

Around 5 a.m., Roselle Mayor David Shaw was awoken by a woman yelling “help” and “fire,” only to see smoke pluming from another unit in the complex, NJ.com reported.

Shaw then sprinted from his Brooklawn Avenue condo to alert other neighbors of the fire, the publication wrote.

“Everyone kept saying, ‘Where’s Joe? Where’s Joe?’ and no one knew where he was,” Shaw said in a news release cited by the publication. “Joe is an elderly man who lives alone and has a hearing impairment. So, I raced to his front door and we all tried to kick it down.”

Shaw and other neighbors were unable to break down the heavy door to Joe’s apartment, so the mayor found a crowbar from his condo and pried open the door, My Central Jersey added. The group then pulled Joe to safety.

The man suffered minor smoke inhalation, reports said. A cat also died.

NJ.com added that firefighters quickly doused the flames, according to Roselle Fire Chief Eric Pearson. Damage was limited to the apartment where the fire originated, the outlet said, adding that the fire was apparently caused by a spark from a laptop charger in another unit.

An investigation is ongoing.