Rescue Team Dispatched to Midland Park Fire

Wyckoff firefighters were on the scene of a recent Midland Park blaze after the neighboring department received word of a house fire.

Peter Hook of the Midland Park Fire Department said his department got a call at about 1:25 a.m. Sept. 27 notifying them of a working fire at 28 Pleasant Ave, a residential home a few blocks off Godwin Avenue. Chief David Murphy of the Wyckoff Fire Department said the local force was requested to send a Firefighter Assist Search Team (FAST) to assist the Midland Park firefighters as they worked to knock down the blaze.

Murphy said the FAST team is comprised of the department's "most specialized members" who work to rescue any firefighter who may get injured or trapped inside a building.

"They are a dedicated team assigned just to that task if the unfortunate scenario happens," Murphy wrote in an e-mail. The chief wrote that such teams have become commonplace since 9/11, with the onus on "protecting our own as well as others." When a fire is brought under control, the FAST team may assist in securing the structure.

Both Hook and Murphy said the FAST team were there as a precaution. No firefighters were hurt or otherwise compromised.

Hook said two pumpers and a ladder truck were dispatched to the Pleasant Avenue home to deal with a chimney fire that originated in the fireplace. Midland Park arrived to find an active fire on the exterior of the home, although the blaze also extended into the attic. Hook said the department had the fire under control in about 15 minutes.

The homeowner had been present and reported the fire after being awakened by smoke detectors. Hook said that his department advised the residents to leave for the night, as the gas and electric were turned off following the damage. However, the home was habitable, Hook said.

The Pleasant Avenue home still had debris on the front lawn a few days after the fire, and Hook said a private company was called in to help clean up. The homeowner could not be reached for comment.

Hook said neighboring departments will be called in as a "matter of course" when there is "any kind of structure fire."