Spring Lake firefighters battled a 'labor intensive' fire in a late 19th century house,
As power lines were interwoven with trees, apparatus couldn't make close access, Spring Lake Fire Chief Ed Hale told Asbury Park Press reporters.
Firefighters encountered heavy smoke billowing from the eves of the two-story, wood-frame stucco home, and then flames roaring from the roof, Hale said.
The challenges forced command to request two additional alarms.
"We had to fight it by hand," the chief said.
The balloon construction of the home — a lack of fire-stops between the floors in a method that used long studs that ran from the foundation to the rafters — contributed to the severity of the blaze,
The building also had old wiring, Hale explained, adding that the home's plaster and lath walls and ceilings made extinguishing the blaze difficult.
"It was very labor intensive," he said.
During the operation, debris fell on the head of a Wall firefighter who was taken to Jersey Shore University Hospital in Neptune for treatment. The injury was non-life-threatening, Hale said.
An investigator with the Monmouth County Fire Marshal's Office collected evidence before the demolition started.
