Firefighters battled a blaze early Sunday that destroyed several homes just a few blocks from the beach in Belmar.
One resident was injured, but things could have been worse if a good Samaritan hadn’t rushed to alert the man about the fire in his home on 13th Avenue.
By the time the resident tried to get out, intense flames blocked the front door, said Belmar Fire Chief Sean Pringle.
“A passerby who was walking her dog called it (the fire) in and then banged on the window and door and the man ran outside through the back,” he said.
The man suffered minor burns and was treated at the scene by emergency medical services, he said.
One firefighter suffered a burn to the neck and another suffered a neck injury, the chief said. Both were treated at the scene.
The fire was reported after 6:05 a.m. in the 300 block of 13th Avenue in the Jersey Shore town.
More than a dozen fire companies responded to the fire scene with more than 50 firefighters, Pringle said.
The chief said a gas meter on the side of one of the houses exploded during the fire.
Firefighters tried to enter one of the burning homes to check if anyone was inside. However, they were forced out by the intensity of heat and flames, he said.
“My main concern was to make sure that no one was inside any of these houses,” Pringle said. “We put some guys in to do a quick initial search of one house. They were up on the second floor, but the fire was so bad we had to pull them out.”
Pringle called a second alarm for more manpower when he arrived on the scene and saw the flames.
“Upon arrival we found a house heavily involved in flames,” Pringle said. “There was heavy fire coming out of the front of the first house, the porch area and the fire was already through the house.”
He said the fire had extended from one house to two other neighboring houses.
Three of the houses are total losses, with the fourth house sustaining exterior damage, the chief said.
Firefighters from Belmar Goodwill Hose and Belmar Hook and Ladder, Avon, Neptune City, Neptune Township, Wanamassa, Spring Lake Heights, Sea Girt, Manasquan, South Wall, Glendola, and West Belmar responded.
Fire companies remained on the scene until 10 a.m., Pringle said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Monmouth County Fire Marshal and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
Photos posted by All Hands Fire showed the homes fully engulfed in flames.
Drone footage captured by Belmar resident Bill Mckim showed numerous firefighters dousing a destroyed home with water, as well as the surrounding homes.
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Stephanie Loder may be reached at SLoder@njadvancemedia.com.
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