Cigarette Causes Bergen Apartment Fire, Man Rescued: Police

MAHWAH, NJ — A police officer and firefighters rescued an unconscious man from a fire that broke out in his Ridge Garden apartment early Thursday morning, police said.

Police got a call from a Hemmingway Lane resident at 4:11 a.m. about fire alarms going off in their apartment building, said Chief Stephen Jaffe.

Police and firefighters responded and found smoke coming out of the back window of a first floor apartment. Firefighters went into the smoke-filled apartment and found a 52-year-old man unconscious on a smoldering couch that had caught fire, Jaffe said. Firefighters and Officer Thomas Mitchell got the man out of the apartment.

A cigarette the man was smoking before falling asleep on the couch started the fire, which spread, but was extinguished by water from the unit's sprinkler system, the chief said.

Emergency medical personnel evaluated the man for minor injuries and took him to Valley Hospital. Adjacent apartments were evacuated while Mahwah firefighters cleared the smoke from the apartment, Jaffe said.

Mahwah Police Department Sgt. Michael Blondin arson investigator deemed the building was safe to re-enter. There was no water, smoke, or fire damage to adjacent apartment units, Jaffe said.

Jaffe acknowledged the "actions, professionalism, and teamwork" of firefighters and police officers at the scene.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com