Middletown house fire kills 71-year-old man and his dog
MIDDLETOWN – For the second time in two days an elderly Shore resident died in a house fire that also took the life of a dog.
John Dowd, 71, was found inside his home at 9 Dakota Ave. Friday evening after firefighters brought the blaze under control, investigators said in a statement Saturday morning. The initial call came in at 7:54 p.m. for the residence in North Middletown that was “fully engulfed in flames.”
Middletown police on Saturday had not determined a cause for the fire, which remains under investigation. Once the fire was suppressed, firefighters located Dowd’s body and that of a dog.
Atlantic Hub News Briefs, April 7
Atlantic Hub News Briefs, April 7
Detectives from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics and Criminal Enterprise
Unit, along with the Eatontown, Oceanport and Union Beach police departments, and the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, arrested Herbert Standard, 41, of Asbury Park, and Mark Standard, 40, of Oceanport, after a three-month investigation into the distribution of cocaine and heroin, according to a press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
The arrests on March 24 resulted from search warrants that were executed at the Crystal Inn in Eatontown, at a location on Gosselin Avenue in Oceanport, and in two vehicles.
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Middletown Police said they arrived around 7:54 pm followed by Middletown Township Fire Fighters who battled the flames that engulfed the entire home.
Middletown Firefighters said a neighbor told them that they felt someone may still be inside which is when search and rescue teams looked within the residence and then found John Dowd deceased inside the home.
Middletown Township Fire Department Fire Chief John Friedman called the fire at 8:25 pm and all units, including 45 firefighters from 3 companies, were cleared by 10:15 pm.
No firefighter injuries have been reported.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Middletown Township Fire Marshal, Monmouth County Fire Marshal, Middletown Police and the Monmouth County Prosecutor s Office.
N.J. man, 71, and a dog found dead in fire, police say
Updated 11:11 AM;
A 71-year-old man was killed in a blaze that destroyed a Monmouth County home on Friday night, authorities said.
Shortly before 8 p.m. Friday, a fire was reported on Dakota Avenue, in Middletown, Charles Webster, spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, said in a statement. When firefighters arrived, the home was already consumed in flames, the statement said.
After firefighters were able to put the fire under control, they found the body of John Dowd, 71, amid the rubble, Middletown police said in a statement. Firefighters also found the body of a dog, Webster said in the statement.
Middletown house fire prompts response from Prosecutor’s Office
MIDDLETOWN - Investigators from the township police and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office were on the scene of a major house fire on Dakota Avenue on Friday night, authorities said.
Police officers and firefighters responded to a report of “an active structure fire” on Dakota Avenue at 7:54 p.m., Deputy Police Chief Paul J. Bailey said late Friday night.
Multiple agencies and units from the Middletown Township Fire Department responded to the initial call. On Friday night, the municipal fire marshal’s office had been joined by investigators from the Police Department and Prosecutor’s Office in determining the cause, Bailey said.