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UPDATE: Man Injured in Erma Structure Fire

erma | 9 weeks 29 min ago | Comments 24

By Joe Hart

ERMA — On Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 4:16 p.m. Lower Township police and fire departments were called to 247 Breakwater Road for a structure fire.

Patrolman Robert Smith and Detective Chris Lambert, of the Lower Township Police Department, were the first officers to arrive on scene, according to a release.

The officers were attempting to enter the residence when an occupant Hugh Hayden stumbled out of the front door with his hair and clothes burnt, the release stated. The officers then moved Hayden away from the burning residence.

Hayden was taken to Cape Regional Medical Center with 2nd and 3rd degree burns to his hands, face and head.

Under the township's new mutual aid policy for structure fires, all three Lower Township fire companies were dispatched to the blaze. The fire was reported under control at 4:30, and the county Fire Marshal was notified.

Breakwater Road was shut down for several hours by Lower Township police due to the fire.
Police evacuated homes behind the structure as a precaution.

Hayden told police he had fallen asleep and left something on the stove, according to a report. Initial investigation of the scene determined that the fire had started in the kitchen area, the release stated.

According to Michael Ssenyonga, a former occupant of the home who was at the fire scene, Hayden is a 58-year-old former U.S. Marine.

Ssenyonga, who recently moved to a different residence, told the Herald he had visited the victim at the home just three hours before the fire was reported.

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Comments (24)

We welcome your thoughts, stories and information related to this article.

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Thu, 11/20/2008 - 3:56pm

I am the daughter of the man in the fire and Im not sure what happened but I just want to thank anyone who helped him.

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Tue, 11/18/2008 - 11:09pm

To ALL of the internet tough guys that that bash police, fire and ems, Obviously you lack the testicular fortitude to do any of these jobs. If you did, you would see that it is not as easy as it seems. To the spouter who complained about too much equipment too fast, say that when YOUR house is on fire and burning down. To the spouter who stated that the police chief is an administrator, he is the director of public saftey, it's his job to be there. Unless you have put on bunker gear and gone into a burning building where the temperature is on average 325 degress at your knees, or put on a vest, badge and gun and deal with the domestics, bar fights, accidents, and general stupidity of people or bring back a junky for the fifth time with the meds to do so you have no right to pass judgement. I find it amusing how people can sit here and bash the people who choose to make their community a better place from behind the warmth and saftey of a keyboard. I would be willing to bet my pention that NONE of you would be man enough to say these things to our faces while on the job. To you internet tough guys, next time a firefigter is on the job saving your property or a loved ones property, or when a cop arrests the scumbag for beating up your daughter or breaking into your house, or when the emt brings back a loved one from the brink of death, bash them then. Don't say thank you, for leaving their family in the middle of the night or for putting their lives on the line to protect people like you, just bash them and tell them what a bad job they are doing. Or better yet, grow a set and do what we do for a living. Only then will you have the right to pass judgment.

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Sun, 11/16/2008 - 2:03pm

The cheif of police should not be in charge of every scene. EMS ie the ambulance service is in charge of a MVA if there is someone trapped, A fire chief is in charge of a fire scene, and the police chief is in charge of a criminal scene!

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Sun, 11/16/2008 - 9:10am

Isn't that what a police chief does , checks on things!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!You people need to pick on someone or something that is worth the argument, God forbid he does not show up at one of these complaining peoples house or whatever , then things will really hit the fan, If it was my house or accident scene, I would want everyone who has to be there to be there, So why don't you all put your complaining effort on something worth while, Like who is starving & loosing jobs in our own back yards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Sat, 11/15/2008 - 11:44am

To the 11:54 spouter, "the Chief of Police is responsible for this Township" when did the Chief of Police become the head of emergency services??? Who exactly is the head of Lower Township emergency services?

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Fri, 11/14/2008 - 7:12pm

If there was commercial baking going on in there was there a mercantile license? Was this kitchen approved by the Board of Health? It will probably be left in bad shape for some time. Unless the owner had it insured as commercial property the insurer probably won't have to pay up to clean up.

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Wed, 11/12/2008 - 9:14am

Some of the information provided in the article was incorrect. A Lower Twp. Rescue Member was first to arrive on scene. That member saw the man tring to put out the fire with a garden hose through one of the windows. The member then pulled the man away from the burning structure.

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Sat, 11/08/2008 - 11:54am

Maybe before you post this crap on here you should get your information straight. The Chief does not, thats right does not receive overtime he is a salaried employee. Now do you think that makes him a repsonsible human being that puts this township emergency situations before his social life? As far as giving orders, that is his job, he is responsible for this Township. As we can see alot of people on here are the first to blame the whole police department when soemthing goes wrong, but you dont want the chief to be at the scene of things because he is just milking the township. The Chiefs is not the only salaried position in the LTPD you should quit spewing your venom without knowing the facts.

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Sat, 11/08/2008 - 9:30am

To the 11/07 4:45 spouter. You are obviously very uninformed. Chief Donohue is management, he is a salaried employee, no overtime. Rather than criticize the Chief think of this, he gets paid forty hours a week, if he puts in more he gets no compensation for it. If you had any clue what you were talking about you would know the Chief is at all major emergencies in township be it police or fire. Instead of being an A&^%%$%$ and knock the Chief you should be praising the Chief for being a part of the response. The Lower Township Police Dept. sets the bar for the county perhaps the state and as a resident and emergency responder I very much appreciate the Chief's attendance at these incidents. Thanks Chief keep up the good work.

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Sat, 11/08/2008 - 8:34am

Im, the Own of the property on 247 breakwater. I wish to thank all the fiiremen and policemen and emergency crue and all friends for your prayers, The man injured in the fire is in a stable condition after some surgery. He cant talk yet.
Excellent job

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Fri, 11/07/2008 - 4:45pm

The Police chief was there. The reason for this is he gets paid overtime which is outrageous. Who authorizes this? He shows up all the time after hours. Guess he has no confidence in his staff.

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Thu, 11/06/2008 - 8:04am

I can't believe West Cape May gave up on what appears to be such a auccessful plan. Maybe it cost the borough to much money.There may be more to it than what has been stated. I can't believe that the mayor of West Cape May would allow such actions. Someone please step up and get this resolved before it is too late. Like 11/05 @5:16pm stated, they should be working to come together not farther appart. MAYOR KAITHEREN STAND UP AND BE COUNTED ON THIS ONE.

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Wed, 11/05/2008 - 8:19pm

I have a hard time believing that West Cape May would cancel a system for fire protection that is designed to provide the best fire protection possible. The fire companies of Lower Township received this info from a system in place in cape may, west cape may, and cape may point? I would rather have peace of mind knowing I had the best service possible and getting a response from a paid dept. who is close and always there is a refreshing thought. It is time to think about whats best for the residents of the borough and look into this problem with cancelling emergency response due to a few hurt feelings. Pam its time to step up as Mayor and investigate.

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Wed, 11/05/2008 - 5:41pm

Will the 11/05 1230pm spouter could you please explain exactly what happened with West Cape May calling off the response. It does not make sense to me, why would a volunteer fire co. not want a paid crew to respond right away to help. It is a piece of mind to know you will have a response if your response is delayed. I would not want to be the one who cancelled that if there is fire and someone gets hurt. Setting up that response than cancelling it because it works to well, I can't believe the city officials would allow this liability to exist. I wonder how many residents of west cape may know about this change that adversely affects there fire protection? I hope for the sake of the taxpayers of west cape may address this issue before it is too late.

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Wed, 11/05/2008 - 5:16pm

Well if that is the case than maybe the Mayors of West Cape May, Cape May Point and Cape May should sit down and discuss shared services. It seems to be working with the Police Department, I can not see how it would not benifit from all involved to combine and have one large department that works together, rather than three departments that do not work together. Maybe the fire chiefs should sit down and get the ball rolling, or is there too much pride and ego involved for that to work?

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Wed, 11/05/2008 - 12:30pm

I am a Lower Township firefighter and and think the system works great but the following bothers me, Cape May Point, West Cape May and Cape May had the same multi station response before ours, until West Cape May cancelled it because Cape May has paid people and get there too fast and make them look bad. What a disgrace not to put public safety first. Way to go West Cape May.

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Wed, 11/05/2008 - 12:17pm

As most articles in this and prior articles, whether it be a fire, a car accident and or police called to a house, someone has nothing better to do other than read the article and pick something negative to say. IE: car accident victim must have been drunk, police didn't respond fast enough, etc. Well I for one thank all the VOLUNTEER FIREMAN, I am lucky enough not to have used their services, but know they will be there when needed. GREAT JOB!!!!!!

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Wed, 11/05/2008 - 10:56am

My family and I were supposed to move into this house today, but not anymore i guess. great job to the lower township fire company's

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Wed, 11/05/2008 - 6:58am

Yes, all those there did a great job in containing the fire and treating the victim. And yes, the police chief was there, not newsworthy enough to make it into the article. THAT information came from some of the emergency personnel on the scene.

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Wed, 11/05/2008 - 3:43am

Great job to all!! Erma fire,Town Bank,Villas and Cape May also on stand-by Rio Grande,Green Creek and West Cape May Fire. And to the #1 comment, it's nice to see the police chief comes out to check on the men and women serving the township.

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Tue, 11/04/2008 - 10:54pm

Outstanding job by the fire departments. When they arrived the house was completely engulfed by fire. The did a great job of keeping the fire contained to the house it started in. Greay job by all (fire, police, and rescue), I am glad to see that we have such wonderful emergency service agencies.

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Tue, 11/04/2008 - 9:17pm

Hats off to Chief Muller, Chief Treon & Chief Hilvert for getting together and creating the mutual aid response for structure fires. People of Lower Township should commend these fine men for putting together the best response possible to the residents of all three fire districts in their time of need. Other areas have attempted this but apparently too much equipment too soon is problem. Again as a resident of Lower I appreicate your efforts to provide best service possible and setting egos & whats left of your pride aside. Good job guys keep up the good work.

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Tue, 11/04/2008 - 8:40pm

where in this entire story does it say the police cheif was even there? i would love to know where you got that from. great job to the firefighters who were there. hopefully the victims burns were not completely severe.

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Tue, 11/04/2008 - 4:56pm

Once again the POLICE chief shows up on a call and starts barking orders as if his officers and even the fireman don't know what they're doing. He needs to remember he's supposed to be an ADMINISTATOR. THe police, fireman and rescue squad members all do an excellent job in the township without his interference.

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