By: Richard L. Smith
A quiet Tuesday morning in Newark’s West Ward turned tragic when a fire inside a Telford Street home claimed the life of a longtime resident, prompting a full investigation by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Officials say the blaze broke out around 8:19 a.m. at 58 Telford Street, a four-family residence where neighbors were getting ready for work, school, and the day ahead.
Newark firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke pushing through the upper level of the building.
Crews quickly stretched multiple lines, fighting their way through thick heat as they made an aggressive push to reach the second floor.
Within minutes, firefighters located 60-year-old Mr. Wilbur Pierre in a second-floor hallway.
He was unresponsive when they carried him out of the home. Pierre was rushed to University Hospital, but despite emergency efforts, he was pronounced dead at 9:39 a.m.
The fire was brought under control at 8:54 a.m., and no other residents were injured.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, and officials say it is too early to determine how the fire started or whether anything suspicious was involved.
Anyone with knowledge of possible criminal activity linked to the incident is asked to contact the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Tips Line at 1-877-TIPS-4EC.
For the tight-knit Telford Street community, the loss is deeply personal. 
Neighbors who watched firefighters fight their way through the smoke say Pierre was well-known in the area and often seen on his porch or speaking with longtime residents.
Today, they are grieving as investigators continue their work to determine what sparked the fire that cut his life short.