TOMS RIVER – A late-night fire that tore through a Leawood Avenue home left a family displaced but unharmed thanks to a neighbor who noticed the flames and rushed to alert them, officials said.
The blaze broke out around 11:43 p.m. on September 20, according to Chief Fire Inspector Matthew Janora of the Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention.
A Doorbell camera video circulating on social media shows the neighbor pounding on the front door, urging the family to get out as flames crackled along the porch.
Homeowner Jonathan Pope said he and his wife escaped with their 17-year-old, 9-month-old and the family dog. “We only got out with the clothes on our backs,” he said in a GoFundMe appeal set up to cover immediate needs until insurance kicks in.
Janora said the fire began outside the home when discarded smoking materials ignited cardboard boxes and a township-issued trash bin, quickly spreading to the garage, porch, attic and a second-floor bedroom. Firefighters from five township companies knocked down the flames and prevented further damage.
The house has been declared unsafe to live in by the township’s building department. The family is receiving temporary aid from the American Red Cross.
“We are deeply grateful to our neighbor, the first responders, and the Red Cross for helping us through this,” Pope wrote.
Pleasant Plains, Silverton, East Dover, and Toms River Fire Companies 1 and 2 responded, along with township police, EMS and utility crews. No injuries were reported.
