SOUTH DENNIS – A relief effort is being conducted to aid a Dennis Township family who lost everything in a two-alarm house fire Feb. 6.
Multiple fire companies responded to the fire in the 900 block of Route 47, near Route 83, Monday morning.
By the time firefighters arrived on the scene around 6 a.m., the fire was showing from the second floor and attic. Firefighters were unable to enter the two-and-a-half-story house, but fought the fire from the outside.
According to the Goshen Volunteer Fire Company Facebook page, it received a call at 6:17 a.m. with a request for its tanker. Upon arrival, Goshen firefighters were needed to help with the attack.
The Stone Harbor Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 also responded with its Quint 13 fire truck and five firefighters. One firefighter was transported to Cape Regional Medical Center with a minor injury.
Reports indicated Route 47 was shut down for a period of time while the fire was being brought under control.
According to Dennis Township Mayor Zeth Matalucci, flames could be seen coming from the roof over two hours since the fire was reported. He said a trooper on the scene told him the fire seemed to have started on the second floor before involving the attic area.
All the house’s occupants were able to escape without harm. The fire has displaced five family members – the mother and father of two boys and the father’s mother, as well as the family dog.
Liz Camp, the mother of the two boys, said on her GoFundMe page that she is a stay-at-home mom who is trying to earn money decorating T-shirts and cups at home. The home and her materials are now gone with the fire. She said they have little-to-no income at the moment.
Lauren Tinney-Matalucci, a neighbor of the Camp family, has been trying to spread the word about the family’s needs, and a GoFundMe page was set up to help the family recover.
Tinney-Matalucci said the family is in need of size 6 diapers, size 3T and 4T boy’s clothes, size 6 boy’s shoes, size 10.5 men’s shoes, size 8 women’s shoes, size XL men’s clothes, and size M/L women’s clothing.
Tinney-Matalucci said the family has nowhere to store donated items, so she asks that people contact her at 609-703-6107 for pickup or drop-off items at Bayshore Sign, 905 Route 47, Cape May Court House, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Visit the Camp’s donation page at https://gofund.me/943e1d02.
Dennis fire units, who were assisted by automatic aid from Ocean View Fire Company and Belleplain Volunteer Fire Company, as well as Stone Harbor Fire’s Ladder and Avalon Fire’s Rapid Intervention Team (RIT), were dispatched to the South Dennis home for a reported dwelling fire.
The fire was placed under control in approximately two hours, and Dennis Fire units remained on scene until about 12:15 p.m., performing salvage and overhaul operations. Route 47 was closed for over three hours while units operated on scene.
Also assisting were Woodbine Fire, Green Creek Fire (2nd RIT), Court House Fire (Tanker), Leesburg Fire (Tanker), Heislerville Fire (Tanker), Inspira EMS, Middle Township Ambulance, New Jersey State Police, Cape May County Fire Marshal’s Office, the New Jersey State Fire Marshal’s Office, Atlantic City Electric, and the Red Cross.
Sea Isle Fire established a drafting site on Route 83 for water shuttle operations, and Marmora Fire provided coverage to the Dennis Fire district during the incident.
The fire is under investigation by the Cape May County Fire Marshal’s Office and the New Jersey State Fire Marshal’s Office.
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