Man and Dog Killed in Oakland Blaze

A 71-year-old Oakland man was killed along with his dog in a house fire Monday evening, according to police.

The Oakland Volunteer Fire Department received a call about the fire and arrived on the scene just before 5 p.m. Heavy smoke was pouring from the rear of the home and flames were coming out of a bedroom window, police said Tuesday.

Oakland firefighters entered the home and located Della Bruna unconscious in a hallway then pulled the 71 year old from the building. He was transported to St. Joseph's Hospital in Wayne, Oakland Police said Tuesday. 

Della Bruna was pronounced dead at 5:57 p.m. by doctors at St. Joseph's.

Police said the cause of the fire is unknown, but it does not appear to be suspicious.

Carmine Della Bruna Jr. was home alone with the family dog in the Grove Street home when the fire began, said Matt Gallup a friend who was clearing out debris from inside the boarded-up home Tuesday morning.

"[Della Bruna's] wife came home and saw the house on fire," said Gallup.

The Oakland Fire Department, with assistance from Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes, put out the blaze shortly after arriving at approximately 5 p.m, according to northjersey.com. 

"We were there in what was not even a minute," Oakland Fire Chief Robert Knapp told the website. "It was a quick knockdown, actually. Once we were able to make entry, we contained [the fire] to one room."

The fire is under investigation by Detective Bart Pagerie with the Oakland Police Department, and members of the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, Major Crimes Unit, and the Bergen County Sheriff's Department, Bureau of Criminal Investigation.