LINDENWOLD, N.J. – November 22, 2013 (WPVI) — Officials say a man was injured and a pet killed in a fast-moving apartment building fire in Lindenwold, New Jersey early Friday morning.
The fire broke out just before 1:30 a.m. in the unit block of Oak Street.
A resident returning from work saw the fire, called 911 and began knocking on doors, but no one answered.
According to crews, the fire began in a downstairs unit, number 3406.
The resident of that apartment was not home when the fire started. Her dog was unable to escape and died in the blaze.
Upstairs, in apartment 3408, two residents were inside but did not hear the frantic knocks on their door.
Police knocked down the door but were not able to go inside because of the heat and smoke. When firefighters arrived, they rescued both.
One man is listed in stable condition at an area hospital. He’s being treated for smoke inhalation.
The fire forced the entire building to be evacuated. About a dozen people were affected. All those evacuated were back inside by 6:00 a.m.
The only apartments damaged were the apartment where the fire started and the unit directly above it.
The Red Cross is assisting the residents of both those apartments.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Curt Isakson is a 35 year veteran of the fire service. Curt is currently a Battalion Chief for Escambia County Fire Rescue. Previously worked 9 years with the Pensacola Fire Department where he was assigned as the Company Officer on Rescue 31. Curt’s fire service experiences started at a young age as a Junior firefighter with the Midway Fire Protection District and rose through the ranks to Captain. He has worked in volunteer, career, and combination departments.
Curt has held all ranks up to Battalion Chief and been assigned to operations, training, inspections, and was Chief of Special Operations for 7 years. Curt owns and operates County Fire Tactics that covers a very diverse range of fire service topics, as well as Firefighter Rescues, a site that documents rescues made by firefighters around the country.
He has annual contracts with numerous departments to provide standardized monthly training for these departments that respond daily together under an automatic aid agreement. Curt teaches nationally to include; FDIC, Firehouse Expo, Firehouse World, Orlando Fire Conference, Atlanta Fire Conference, Bowling Green State University, and owns/operates the annual HROC, COBC, WOTF, CFT ODP on Pensacola Beach. He is a Florida Certified Fire Officer, Instructor, Inspector, Arson, and FLUSAR.
