Barn, Apartment Fire Displaces Residents

A wood burning stove may have been the cause of a barn fire on Washington Valley Road that required an aggressive attack from the Martinsville Volunteer Fire Company Monday evening.

According to Bill Rose, with the fire company, the department was dispatched around 7:24 p.m. to a working structure fire, with flames showing out of the windows of the structure.

The structure, Rose said, was a barn with an apartment.

"Martinsville firefighters made an aggressive attack, bringing the blaze quickly under control," he said.

No injuries were reported in the fire, Rose said, but the residents of the apartment did have to be relocated by the Red Cross. He said the structure is still standing, despite the fact that the residents could not stay in it.

Although they are still investigating, Rose said, the fire may have been caused by a wood burning stove.

Assisting in the takedown of the fire were the Washington Valley Fire Department in Warren, Bound Brook Fire Department, Finderne Fire Department, Green Knoll Fire Department and the Martinsville Rescue Squad.

Rose said the fire was not suspicious, but it is currently being investigated by the Bridgewater Police Department, Bridgewater Fire Official and the Somerset County Prosecutors Office.