Authorities Probe Fire That Left Disabled Man Dead In Edison, N.J.
EDISON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Police on Saturday were searching for the cause of a fire that trapped and killed a disabled father in Edison, New Jersey.
As CBS2's Steve Langford reported, the fire broke out around 11 p.m. Friday in a house on Gurley Road in Edison. A family was left devastated.
"The whole street was filled with police cars and fire trucks, and smoke was billowing out of the back of the house," said neighbor Michael McGinnis.
Amid the debris from the home on Saturday, there was a walker belonging to a 68-year-old disabled man who did not make it out alive.
Firefighters said they victim was bedridden when the flames erupted out in the back of the house.
"His wife told me this morning that he had died," said Dolores Labarge, who watched from across the street as just two of the three residents of the home escaped the flames.
"He was sick for a long time," Labarge said. "He'd had a couple of strokes, I think."
The victim's daughter was too distraught to speak about the shocking loss of her father to the fire, which was contained to the rear of the home.
More than two dozen firefighters battle the blaze, but they could not save the disabled man. His daughter and wife were left to salvage what they could from the ravaged home and mourn their loss.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the fire had not concluded late Saturday. But officials said it appeared as though an overloaded surge protector may have caused the fire.
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