Small Fire Squelched at Madison Ave. Garden Apartment

A small wall fire broke out around 10:30 a.m. Friday at the Towne Gardens apartments at 17 Madison Ave.

Construction crews were repairing steel steps at the entrance to one of the garden apartment units when the heat from the metal being welded transferred through the walls of wood framing and started a small fire smoldering inside the walls of the house, said Acting Fire Chief Lou DeRosa.

"We had to pull the wall apart where it was burning and extinguish the fire," he said.

There were no injuries reported as no one was home at the time of the fire, DeRosa said. Two cats, however, did survive. The apartment sustained minor smoke and cosmetic damage.

In addition to the five Madison fire fighters on duty who responded to the scene, mutual aid was received from Florham Park and Cedar Knolls.

"We got it knocked down quick," DeRosa said. "It was a good outcome for what could have been a bad fire."