DOWNS: At least 13 people were injured, two critically, after an explosion ripped through a Vernon Way home in the Port Reading section of Woodbridge, April 21st. UPS: Bayville Fire Chief Ken Anderson and Pinewald Fire Co. Lt. Brian Scott teamed up to rescue a woman after they responded to a “swimmer in distress” call, April 8th. The woman couldn't have held onto the bulkhead in the frigid waters of the lagoon by her Drake Dr. home much longer. When first responders arrived at the home, they found the woman holding her dog, barely able to cling to a bulkhead, officials said. Both men climbed over the bulkhead and entered into the water. Scott pushed the dog up to land and Anderson pulled the woman partially up on the bulkhead. Then they helped the woman and dog into the house. “If it were not for the quick response and actions of Chief Ken Anderson and Lt. Brian Scott, the victim would have succumbed to the effects of hypothermia and would have drowned in the frigid water,” according to the Bayville Fire Company's Facebook page. DOWNS: After Jersey City firefighters extinguished a car fire on 15th St., they found a dead man inside the vehicle, on April 20th. The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation into the incident. UPS: Newark officials unveiled plans for a new state-of-the-art police and fire training complex to be built on the former grounds of the William H. Brown Academy that would train 1,700 police and fire personnel annually. Once ground is broken, Mayor Ras J. Baraka said it should take about 18 months to finish the complex. DOWNS: A small plane crashed in a heavily wooded area near Greenwood Lake Airport, West Milford, May 2nd, killing the pilot and sparking a brush fire, officials said. UPS: Two of Carteret's older pieces of fire apparatus are being donated to Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, where they will be put into active service on the island still recovering from last year's hurricane. The donated units are a 2001 American LaFrance rescue-pumper and 1998 American LaFrance 100-foot tower. DOWNS: Three people, including a police officer and firefighter, suffered smoke inhalation during a condominium fire at Cambridge Village in Parsippany, May 2nd. Two families were displaced. Firefighters used a ladder to rescue one man from the 2nd floor, according to police. Lake Hiawatha Fire District 4 Chief Chris Cleary entered the building and rescued a German Shepard from the 2nd floor, officials said. UPS: Retired Morristown Captain Richard Mikutsky has been appointed by Governor Murphy to become the Director of the Division of Fire Safety and State Fire Marshal. The vacated seat had been empty for the previous seven-years. DOWNS: A 4-alarm fire involving two Bergen Ave. dwellings in Jersey City, left 42 people homeless on April 23rd. Some residents reported their pets had died in the fire. At least one was pulled off of a balcony and rescued by firefighters. UPS: Firefighters from Rockaway Township's Marcella Fire Company rescued a woman from Splitrock Reservoir after her kayak floated away, April 28th. Firefighters responded in a launch boat to assist the stranded victim. DOWNS: More than 50 people were displaced following a fire in a condominium complex on Millennium Dr., in Willingboro, April 23rd. UPS: Smoke poured out of the back doors of the Brook Plaza shopping mall in Jackson, April 30th, and a 3rd alarm assignment turned out. As firefighters attacked the flames in the Always and Forever Engravings, Trophies and Awards store, other members forced open a door at Major League Exotic Pets. When they opened the door, a sugar glider possum ran out from the smoke. Firefighters retrieved the possum. Howell and Jackson members carried out more than a dozen cages and carriers containing animals. Included in the rescue were birds, lizards, guinea pigs and hamsters. They were placed in a nearby box truck for shelter, according to Jackson Company 1 Chief Tim Carson. The pet store sustained minor smoke damage. DOWNS: Hundreds of residents were forced out of their apartments, April 30th, when a 3-alarm fire occurred at one of the Harmon Cove high rise buildings in Secaucus. Damage was contained to a 4th floor apartment. Smoke filled the entire 25-story building, officials said. UPS: Firefighters rescued two women from a second-story window of a burning apartment building on Haddon Ave., Collingswood, May 8th. Firefighters found the women hanging out of the window and trying to get air as smoke billowed behind them, Fire Chief Keith Davis said. Firefighters used a ladder to help the victims escape. The fire was brought under control in about 30 minutes. DOWNS: A woman was airlifted from a Wildwood marina, May 9th, after suffering burns in a boat fire. Arriving firefighters found a dry-docked boat in flames and a woman lying on the ground, Deputy Chief Ernie Troiano said. The chief believes the victim jumped from the boat to escape the flames. She suffered “significant burns to both her legs.” The fire spread to two other boats and a condominium. UPS: Alan Brutosky has been promoted to fire captain in Passaic. New lieutenants are Robert Niessen and Jonathan Pearson. DOWNS: A Waldick woman died after she was pulled from her burning Van Court home, May 15th. The fire may have been started by an unattended candle lit during a power outage as the result of a storm, authorities said. UPS: Girl Scout Troop 11021 thanked local firefighters for what they do by providing dinner at Mays Landing Volunteer Fire Company Reliance Hall, April 15th, for members and their families. The dinner was mostly funded by the troop's cookie sales. They cooked and served about 60 people. DOWNS: One pet died and two firefighters were hospitalized in a dwelling fire in the Belford section of Middletown, May 17th. Firefighters found three pets inside, according to fire department spokesman Dennis Fowler. The “fire department utilized pet resuscitation equipment donated earlier in the year by Canine Company,” Fowler said. Two of the pets recovered, but the third “did not survive.” UPS: Linden Fire Chief Joseph Dooley has been elected to the position of the new Fire/Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Environmental (CBRNE) chairman. DOWNS: A Clifton man succumbed to his injuries after a fire in his first-floor apartment on Market St., May 23rd. The 69-year-old was found unconscious in the apartment and taken to a local hospital. UPS: Five boaters in a small metal boat capsized, May 18th, not far from the Keansburg fishing pier. Crews from the FDNY and the Middletown Fire Department were dispatched to the scene. Middletown firefighters rescued two of the boaters and the FDNY grabbed the other three out of the water, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier. All of the victims were brought to the FDNY boat, which took them to the shore where EMS personnel were waiting. DOWNS: In May, Jersey City Engine 14 radioed in to Dispatch that they had a naked male EDP in front of their Palisade Avenue quarters, stopping traffic and trying to start a fight. Engine 14 and Ladder 7 were placed out-of-service, unable to respond, until police and EMS took care of the situation.
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