Fire Destroys Piscataway Home, Fireworks Not To Blame: Fire Official

PISCATAWAY, NJ — This GoFundMe has been created for a Piscataway man and woman whose home of 25 years was "burned to the ground" in a fire that broke out Wednesday, New Year's Day.

The home was located on West Fourth Street, between Rushmore and Pleasant avenues, in Piscataway.

The fire started at 12:30 a.m. New Year's Day, and it took firefighters more than three hours to extinguish the flames. TAPinto Piscataway reported residents in the area were using fireworks to celebrate New Year's Eve when the fire started.

However, Piscataway Fire Marshal Matt Jandernal said he knows fireworks were not the cause.

"I was able to determine fireworks were not the cause based on where the fire started," Jandernal told Patch Friday.

Jandernal said he cannot say any more, as "the fire is still under investigation."

So far, the GoFundMe has raised more than $19,000.

"Tragedy struck my parents in their lifelong home," the couple's daughter wrote on the GoFundMe. "While they were at church, they received a series of urgent calls from neighbors and family informing them that the house they worked their entire lives for was engulfed in flames. When they arrived home, they were devastated to witness their home of 25 years burning to the ground."