Fire That Displaced Family Under Investigation

A fire that left a Beechwood Lane home uninhabitable earlier this month was not considered suspicious, according to an East Hanover police report, and East Hanover Fire Chief Carmine Davino said Monday the exact cause of the fire remains under investigation.

A neighbor said the displaced family is renting another home in East Hanover, and they expect to move back in around six months, after the home is gutted and redone.

The fire was reported at 7:53 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 2. Next-door neighbors noticed fire on the deck, and one neighbor called 9-1-1 while another knocked on the door to tell the occupants to get out, according to the police report.

The occupants, two teens and a 20-year-old, whose parents were out at the time, became aware of the fire after one of them heard crackling and banging, the report said. One of the siblings attempted to extinguish the blaze with a fire extinguisher, according to the report.

Davino said East Hanover firefighters were able to respond to the fire immediately because firefighters were standing by at the firehouse in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. Florham Park, Whippany, Livingston, and Roseland fire departments also responded to assist with the three-alarm fire, Davino said. Neighbors were evacuated until firefighters brought the fire under control.

Cedar Knolls Fire Jim Chief Davidson, a certified arson investigator, responded and found no suspicious circumstances and determined the fire was accidental, the police report said.

The fire is believed to have started in a back corner of the home near the deck, and extended to the ceiling and roof, Davino said.