NORTH BRUNSWICK – Among dozens of first responders and residents who were in the area of Albury Way in North Brunswick around 10:19 p.m. on Dec. 8, two are being credited with saving the lives of two small children and their grandparents during a structure fire.
As officers investigated the 12 units in two buildings – that were eventually gutted and rendered uninhabitable – they observed the children and grandparents stranded on the second floor balcony, according to information provided by the North Brunswick Police Department.
The front door area, the only other means of escape, was blocked by fire. Officer Joseph Grasso scaled the balconies, climbing to the second floor, according to images shown on an officer’s body camera. He removed the children, and dropped them down to other officers catching them below. One of those officers was an off-duty Port Authority officer who lives nearby, according to the statement. The same was done with the children’s grandparents.
All occupants of an apartment building in the Governor’s Pointe complex were accounted for, with no serious injuries, during the fire.
The North Brunswick First Aid & Rescue Squad deployed three ambulances and the Medical Ambulance Bus A-15 to assist in firefighter rehabilitation and patient care, according to information provided by the squad.
The Middlesex County Office of Emergency Management, JFK Medical Center, New Brunswick Animal Control, the Milltown Rescue Squad and the American Red Cross supported the efforts.
The investigation is underway by the North Brunswick Police Department, the North Brunswick Fire Marshal’s Office, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Middlesex County Fire Marshal’s Office.
The Township of North Brunswick is collecting gift cards, toiletries and/or money for the victims. Drop off items or mail to the North Brunswick Municipal Building, 710 Hermann Road, North Brunswick 08902 Attn: Janice Larkin. For more information, contact Janice Larkin at jlarkin@northbrunswicknj.gov or at 732-247-0922, ext. 201.
