Council candidate's home severely damaged in fire
BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer

SAYREVILLE - The home of a Borough Council candidate was severely damaged in a fire that began in the basement of the home early Sunday.

Paula Siarkiewicz, a Republican candidate in the Nov. 6 election, and her husband Robert were not home at the time the fire was discovered at 1:19 a.m. Their four children - Christine, 21, Peter, 17, Andrew, 16, and Steven, 14 - were in the house at the time but were not harmed. A firefighter was also able to save one of the family's birds.

The family is now displaced and staying at a hotel until they can find a permanent residence, Paula Siarkiewicz said, adding that the house will have to be gutted, largely due to severe smoke damage.

Sayreville Fire Chief Richard Mulligan told Greater Media Newspapers that some of the basement of the single-family ranchstyle home was burned, and the rafters were thoroughly burned.

"I was on the scene within three or four minutes and there was already a couple of police officers on the scene," Mulligan said.

Firefighters put out the flames, which were contained to the basement, in minutes, Mulligan said. The utilities to the home were shut down, which is standard procedure in the event of a structure fire. All of the windows and doors were opened for ventilation purposes, Mulligan added.

"We had it under control within, I would say, 10 to 15 minutes," Mulligan said, "and we had to vent the structure of the whole house, which was filled with smoke."

Fire Marshall Kevin Krushinski is leading the investigation. The cause of the fire was not known at press time.

"The whole basement was not engulfed, it was just part of the basement," Mulligan said. "Half of the basement was involved and a lot of the contents were burnt up."

The Melrose, Presidents Park and Morgan fire companies responded to the scene, along with the Sayreville Emergency Squad.

"We had stand-by companies at our firehouses," Mulligan said. "We had South River, Madison Park, Laurence Harbor and South Amboy. They come in and bring an engine to each of our firehouses. If we get another fire they'll cover the area."

Paula Siarkiewicz said that she and her husband were not home because they were attending a wedding in Rhode Island. She expressed appreciation for all of the first responders and emergency personnel that assisted her children during the incident.

"It was because of their prompt response to our home in the wee hours of Sunday, Oct. 14 that our home was not completely destroyed," Siarkiewicz said in a written statement. "To the dispatcher that took the 911 call, thank you for getting all of the people out of our home. To the police, thank you for making sure all of our family was safe. To the ambulance personnel, thank you for making sure that my family was warm. To the fire department, words cannot express our appreciation for the firemen who risked their lives to save our home."

Siarkiewicz also expressed gratitude to fellow borough residents who have offered support in the form of housing, clothing and food donations.

"We are a strong family," Siarkiewicz said. "Together with neighbors we will get through this tragedy."