Liberty Corner Fights Condo Fire

1st Responder

The Liberty Corner Fire Company was dispatched to 3 Magnolia Court in Bernards Township on Thursday, March 11, at 7:40am. The first arriving officer, 1st Assistant Chief Marc Friedman, immediately requested mutual aid from the VA Medical Center Fire Department, which responded with an engine. Liberty Corner responded with two engines and its new tower ladder.

Further mutual aid was requested from the Basking Ridge Fire Company, No. 1, and the Bernardsville Fire Department as a FAST Team. When the Bernardsville members were put to work, the Millington Fire Department from Long Hill Township took over the FAST function.

Although the initial attack was an interior one, the condition of the floors required evacuation of the building. The fire spread throughout the building, but substantial headway was made with the use of Bernardsville's CAF system, despite the collapse of the first floor.

The fire was under control in approximately 1 1/2 hours. The elderly residents safely left the building prior to fire company arrival. The attached condo suffered some smoke and water damage in the basement, from infiltration through the common cinder block wall. The firewall, however, held the fire damage to the involved unit.