Somerset County Officials announced an on-going investigation into a residential fatal fire on West Cliff Street, Somerville.
Officials stated that on Sunday, September 25, 2022 at approximately 6:42 a.m., Somerville Fire Department and Somerville Police responded to a 9-1-1 call reporting a smoke condition stemming from a residence on West Cliff Street, Somerville.
According to officials, responding Somerville Firefighters upon arriving at the scene made entry into the single family residence.
Firefighter discovered a small fire at the rear of the first floor and in the basement of the residence which was extinguished by Firefighters.
Firefighters subsequently discovered an unresponsive female inside of the residence.
Firefighters were able to remove the female from the residence and attempted life savings measure along with responding Emergency Medical Personnel.
The victim, a 68-year-old female resident, was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The residential fire was a first alarm fire. Fire companies from Somerville Fire, Raritan Fire, Finderne Fire, Bound Brook Fire, Manville Fire, Green Knoll Fire, and Somerset (56) Fire were activated and responded to the scene.
First Aid Rescue Squads from Somerville, Green Knoll, Bradley Gardens, and Robert Wood Johnson responded to the scene. Somerset County Communications Center along with Somerset County Fire and EMS Coordinators assisted command and operations.
A cause and origin has not been determined by investigators as the investigation is on-going. The New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office responded to the scene and will be performing a post mortem examination to determine the cause and manner of death.
Prosecutor McDonald, Chief Fodor and Chief Manning request anyone with information relating to the fire to contact the Somerset County Prosecutors Office Major Crimes Unit at (908) 231-7100 or the Somerville Police Department at (908) 725-0331 or via the STOPit app.