Crime & Safety

Fire Completely Destroys Vacant Home in Rumson

The home on South Rohallion Drive was under construction when the fire engulfed the house on Wednesday night.

A Rumson home on South Rohallion Drive is completely destroyed after a fire swept through the vacant building on Wednesday night.

“There is nothing salvageable left of the house,” said Fire Chief Kevin McCarthy of . “It is a total loss.”

According to McCarthy, a call came into around 10:23 p.m. reporting the fire, and when police arrived there flames were already seeping through the roof of the house.

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Both and Oceanic Hook and Ladder arrived soon after the initial call.

“With the home vacant, the fire spread quickly and the house was heavily involved so we went right to exterior operations,” McCarthy said.

Find out what's happening in Rumson-Fair Havenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The departments received mutual aid from Sea Bright, Monmouth Beach and Fair Haven. Rumson EMS was on the scene for support as well.

They were able to control the fire within an hour of arriving on the scene. “We had most of the fire knocked down in 30 minutes and under control within 45 minutes,” McCarthy said. After working on damage control into the night, they were able to clear the scene around 2:30 a.m..

McCarthy said the cause of the fire is still unknown, although he believes it started in the rear of the house. The Monmouth County Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the blaze.


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