Neighbors save elderly couple from house fire

Neighbors save elderly
couple from house fire
Thanksgiving blaze
injures couple,
destroys their home
BY JOLENE HART
Staff Writer

A fire at a Ferris Street home in South River caused ample damage but no serious injuries early Thanksgiving morning, thanks to several heroic neighbors and a prompt response from local firefighters.

Residents John and Helen Schaffer, ages 89 and 83, respectively, were in their kitchen making breakfast when a fire erupted in a first-floor front bedroom, South River Fire Chief Charles Matts said.

A neighbor, Pat Wolynec of Albourne Street, was sleeping with her window open and heard the cries of Mrs. Schaffer, though at first she thought the sounds belonged to the stray cat that she often feeds.

Walking out of her door, Wolynec saw flames coming from the Schaffers’ house.

"I ran inside and grabbed my robe and portable phone," Wolynec said.

She dialed 911 as she ran up the hill behind the Schaffer home and saw Helen Schaffer on a back porch, crying for help.

"She said, ‘Help me. My house is on fire,’ " Wolynec said.

Wolynec said her first call to 911 was met with a busy signal, which surprised her. She reached an emergency operator on her second attempt.

Wolynec realized Schaffer was unable to descend the stairs alone, because of arthritis, and she had to help the woman walk slowly across the back yard.

Wolynec did not have the ability to safely guide Schaffer down the hill behind the burning home because of a previous neck injury, so she stayed at the top of the hill with the woman and yelled for help. Ken Massaro, a Ferris Street resident, rushed to help Wolynec bring Schaffer to safety.

According to Wolynec, there was no way to enter the home because of the thick black smoke pouring out. Wolynec said she did not want to panic Mrs. Schaffer, who was already in shock, by asking about her husband.

In the same moments, two other neighbors helped Mr. Schaffer, who is visually impaired and had been calling for his wife from the front porch, to get away from the burning home.

Police, fire and rescue workers from South River, Sayreville and East Brunswick responded to the alarm, which was called in at 6:04 a.m. by Wolynec.

The fire in the two-story brick, Cape Cod home was contained to the bedroom, although smoke and heat severely damaged the rest of the house.

Robert Schaffer of Sayreville, son of the residents, said that the house will have to be rebuilt due to the fire. He was notified of the fire at about 6:25 a.m. that morning. The cause remains under investiga­tion, Matts said.

The couple was taken to St. Pe­ter’s University Hospital, New Brunswick, and treated for trauma and smoke inhalation. Helen Schaffer was released Saturday and John Schaffer remains in sta­ble condition, according to their son. John Schaffer is recovering well and walking around, though he inhaled large amounts of smoke when he tried to re-enter the burn­ing house to look for his wife, his son said.

The Schaffers had been living in the house since 1953. The couple is now staying with their son in his Sayreville home.

Wolynec said the incident left her severely shaken.

"I was crying all day," she said.

According to Robert Schaffer, the couple was able to share a Thanksgiving dinner together while in the hospital.