Firefighters Burned in Franklin House Blaze
Source Courtesy of The Home News Tribune
Firefighters from Franklin and North Brunswick responded to the home at the corner of Frank and Booker streets at 1:10 p.m., after receiving a report of flames shooting from a window.
Bystanders told firefighters that a resident may be on the second floor, so Lewis Pinala of Community Fire Company and Brian Hoiberg, assistant chief of the East Franklin Fire Department, went to investigate the upstairs bedrooms.
Authorities said they believe that the fire may have flared, and the heat became too much for the men's protective gear. According to East Franklin Fire Chief Dan Krushinski, the men became disoriented and called on the radio for help.
Pinala then jumped out a second-story window. He was caught by firefighter Angel Natel, who then put a ladder to the window and pulled Hoiberg from the blaze.
"He's pretty much in shock," said Krushinski of Natel.
Suffering from second- and third-degree burns, Pinala and Hoiberg were taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, and then transferred by helicopter to St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston. Both were reported to be in critical condition, although stable.
It turned out no one was home during the blaze, which took 25 minutes to extinguish, Krushinski said. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, although authorities believe that it started on the first floor.
Immanuel Hill stood across the street, staring at the burned-out shell of his home. The residence is owned by his father, the Rev. R.N. Hill, who was ministering at Emanuel Tabernacle Baptist Church nearby, he said.
"This house has been here a long time. My mother and father raised 11 of us here," said Hill, who lived at the home with his father and three other family members. "I don't think there's too much to salvage here."
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