No injuries in fire at Whittingham

BY SETH MANDEL
Staff Writer

Only a small portion of the roof on an end-unit home in Monroe's Whittingham community remained Saturday after the dwelling was destroyed in a fire the night before. At right, a Monroe firefighter walks homeowners through the remains of the house to recover belongings. MONROE - Police and fire officials are investigating the cause of a house fire that damaged a residence in a local retirement community.

Firefighters responded at 6:28 p.m. Friday to a report of a chimney fire at a Winthrop Road home in the Whittingham retirement community. Upon their arrival, firefighters found the flames venting through the roof of the home, which is part of a two-story, nine-unit building, according to a report from Fire District No. 3.

The fire was brought under control by 7:30 p.m. and was extinguished at 8 p.m. Damage was contained to the one residence, fire officials said.

There were no reported injuries in the incident, though two residents of the dwelling in question were home at the time of the fire, according to Capt. Raymond LeBrun of Fire District No. 3.

PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff Monroe Township Fire districts 1, 2 and 3 responded, along with Monroe police and first aid workers, and Helmetta, Jamesburg and Hightstown firefighters. Manalapan and Spotswood firefighters were on standby at township firehouses as well, LeBrun said.

Township police detectives and fire prevention officials are assisting in the investigation, though officials may have found the cause and origin of the flames.

"We've pinpointed it down; we're just looking a little further," LeBrun said.

Because it is still under investigation, LeBrun declined to offer specifics on the potential cause.