20 Animals Died In Matawan April 5 Pet Store Fire

MATAWAN, NJ — New information has come to light about the April 5 fire in Matawan, where a beloved longtime Mexican restaurant, Aby's, was entirely destroyed, and the pet shop next store, Feather Fabulous Birds, suffered serious damage.

The fire started at 2:30 a.m. inside the Mexican restaurant. The fire originated in a bag of towels that had just been returned from the dry cleaner earlier that day, according to Victor Santucci, the owner of the pet shop.

The towels still had trace amounts of grease on them and the dry cleaning chemicals that were on the towels acted as an accelerant, starting the fire. The towels were inside a plastic bag and the bag could be seen on security cameras smoldering, said Santucci. He said fire officials told him the official cause was listed as "spontaneous combustion."

The fire destroyed the inside of Aby's and spread to his pet store, which sells birds, reptiles and small furry animals like ferrets.

Tragically, 15 animals died in their cages from smoke inhalation that night: Several birds, a couple different reptiles, a guinea pig and a rabbit, said the pet store owner.

Hundreds of more animals were inside the shop at the time, and Santucci said he watched as firefighters and Monmouth County SPCA officers ran in and out of the burning store, bringing hundreds of animals to safety.

All the animals were examined and treated for free by Red Bank Veterinary Hospital, and Santucci said he was very touched and impressed by their kindness in offering to do that.

Sadly, five more animals died later from smoke inhalation, including several finches and a bearded dragon.

Santucci said insurance inspectors deemed his shop uninhabitable due to the smoke and water damage and he had to find emergency housing for 250 small animals, including birds, reptiles, snakes, ferrets, chinchillas, hamsters, rats, guinea pigs, hermit crabs and betta fish.

"It's been such a nightmare," Santucci. "I was told all the animal food in my store had to be thrown out; everything has to go. You are not just prepared for a tragedy like this to strike."

This GoFundMe page was started for the family that owned Aby's, a Matawan institution for the past 20 years: https://www.gofundme.com/f/aby...

And this GoFundMe was started for Feather Fabulous Birds: https://gofund.me/f8fe13b6

Santucci said all the money donated will go to buy food for 250 animals currently in foster housing. He plans to reopen his pet shop and is currently searching for a location around Matawan/Aberdeen.

"I really, really plan to reopen," said Santucci.

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