A fundraising effort has begun to help the victims of a three-alarm fire that broke out at a home at 75 Highfield Ave., Aberdeen Township, and spread to two other homes on Jan. 10.
The single-family homes at 73, 75 and 77 Highfield Ave. were destroyed after high winds caused the fire to spread from 75 Highfield Ave. to the two neighboring homes in the early afternoon blaze, authorities said.
Police Officer Jessica McDougall is the Aberdeen Township Police Department’s liaison to the municipality’s neighborhood watch group. She said Bonnie Russell, the daughter of two residents displaced by the fire, has created an online registry for all the residents who have been displaced by the fire.
If possible, McDougall said, the donation of gift cards in sets of three are being encouraged in order to distribute the donations fairly to the affected households.
“We have done (fundraising) before for other (fire) victims, but we have never had more than one home (burn down) at a time,” McDougall said.
Gift cards may be dropped off at the police department in the Aberdeen Township Municipal Court, 1 Aberdeen Square. Items other than gift cards will gladly be accepted, she said.
In an interview on Jan. 17, Russell said gift cards for department stores and supermarkets are recommended, but she noted that any donation would be appreciated.
“Since the day of the fire, people have been reaching out with donations and to see how they can help. It’s really been a group effort to collect and distribute the donations. We found out people were calling the police station and dropping off donations. Once I got the contact info, I reached out so we could distribute the donations. The support from the community has really been amazing,” Russell said.
Russell said it was “tough” losing her childhood home in the fire. She said her parents, Pete and Sharon, remain “in good spirits” and said they plan to rebuild their home.
“I moved out a few years ago, but it still felt like home. It was tough to see it go. My parents have lived in that house since 1980. They bought it as their starter home, but then they never wanted to leave. The neighbors are great and everyone is close.
“I think the hardest part is losing so many family photos. Their biggest thing is that they are glad everyone is OK. For the most part, everything else can be replaced,” Russell said.
“All of sudden people kept showing up and I was told those were the people who lived in the (burning) houses,” Geyer said. “When we got there, the center house (75 Highfield Ave.) was engulfed. Those other houses didn’t stand a chance.”
Geyer said he connected the displaced residents with the American Red Cross and said the organization took over at that point in helping the individuals to find accommodations.
According to a police report issued Jan. 10, Patrolman Gus Grivas initially notified headquarters that a fire had broken out at 75 Highfield Ave. Grivas said Joseph Griffith, 79, was outside his home at that address when he arrived at the scene. Griffith was the only person in the home when the fire broke out.
Griffith “was shaking in the cold and high winds, so I put him in my car while we waited for an ambulance (and the street was cleared) for the fire trucks … His hands were also red and it was unclear if they were burned from the fire or red from the cold and wind,” Grivas wrote.
“As the first fire truck arrived from Cliffwood Fire Co., a power wire from the burning house fell, blocking the road (and) hampered the firefighting,” the officer wrote.
Grivas reported Griffith told him that while he was at home, he smelled smoke and walked toward the area of the home where a kerosene heater was in use. Grivas reported Griffith told him he noticed the heater was on fire and attempted to use a fire extinguisher to eliminate the flames before realizing the fire extinguisher was broken.
A neighbor called to notify authorities about the fire, the report states.
“(Griffith) further advised me he had two propane tanks in the living room that he hadn’t yet been able to move down to the basement. Also, there were several stores of ammunition and firearms in different locations in the house,” Grivas said.
Grivas said fuel that was in the home when the fire broke out fueled the blaze.
Griffith was taken to Bayshore Medical Center, Holmdel, from the scene for treatment of what Geyer described that day as minor injuries. No further information about his condition was available.
