Fire tore through an old wood-frame house on a bitter cold night in East Orange, claiming the life of an elderly man and turning the street and sidewalk into a sheet of ice.
Firefighters were called on Friday night to 38 Westcott Street, where flames were shooting out from the first floor of 2 1/2-story structure. They battled the blaze for three hours and discovered the body of an elderly man, believed to be the occupant, officials said.
“Between 12 and 12:10 I heard a lot of fire trucks, and they sounded close,” said Phil Sellers, who lives up the street. “All of a sudden, they came up my block, and I said, ‘Whoa! Something must be going on.’ That’s very frightening.”
Sellers looked out the window and saw at least six fire trucks converge on 38 Westcott.
“I thought, they must have every fire truck in East Orange on the block,” he said.
Westcott Street is populated by a row of houses on either side, most separated by only a narrow driveway. The fire broke out just before midnight, at a time when many people were sleeping, raising the danger.
The blaze quickly went to a second alarm. Firefighters stopped the flames from spreading, but could not save the occupant, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
“They saved the whole block,” said Brian Baird, who lives next door and spent an anxious night watching firefighters battle to save his home. “The fire service did a great job. I give them a big thank you.”
The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, which is investigating the fire, did not identify the victim, and described him only as an “elderly man.” Sellers and other residents of Westcott Street said the man, whose name they said they did not know, lived alone at the address.
“He used to go around doing work on other people’s houses,” Sellers said. “He was a handyman, fixing door jams, and things like that. For this to happen is unbelievable, because I would think he would take care of his place, because he always took care of everybody else’s place on the block.”
Sellers said the victim was also known for the classic Volkswagen mini-bus that he drove. “You’d see him put-put-putting around the neighborhood,” he said.
Another resident, Alex Fandini, said he’s fairly new to the neighborhood, but recalled waiving to the man as he sat on his porch. Fandini believed the man was originally from Italy.
“I wanted to know him more,” said Fandini, who is Italian. “I would see him sitting on his porch and thought that he had come from Italy. He seemed to be an old guy just living alone.”
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Richard Cowen may be reached at rcowen@njadvancemedia.com.