3 firefighters injured, 3 families displaced after Mount Holly 4-alarm fire spreads to other homes

MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. - A fire in a Mount Holly residence quickly spread to two other homes, sent three firefighters to the hospital and put three families out of their homes.

Westampton Township Fire Dept. Chief Craig Farnsworth said the injuries are minor and the firefighters were treated at the hospital.

Farnsworth said while en route to the fire, they got a call that children were possibly inside.

"It was quickly determined that the children were not home," Farnsworth said. "While that was all happening a second house next door along with a third house, because of the heat and the amount of fire, and three houses being on fire, it ended up being a four-alarm fire."

(Photo courtesy: Tania Lebron)

Chief Farnsworth says the fire started at a home on Cherry Street and quickly spread to the other two houses.

The heat added to the already difficult task of stopping the fire from spreading to more homes.

"When the police arrived, they started to evacuate the neighboring houses when they saw the houses next door started to ignite," Farnsworth said. "The police department did a great job and got the neighbors out and alerted everyone that needed to know to get out safely."

Several neighbors said they heard what sounded like two explosions.

"As the explosion happened, it was backed up with a second explosion and the house was engulfed in flames," said Dan Webb.

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Bill Barnatt is good friends with the homeowner. He said the family was on their way to the shore and they haven’t found their pet cat.

"They are upset about that because they haven’t found the one cat," Barnatt said. "Cats have a way of finding shelter and reappearing later, so hopefully that’s the case."

The American Red Cross was out to help the families and Mayor Chris Banks came by to check on them.

"The houses are somewhat close together, and everyone’s concerned," Banks said. "It’s a tight-knit community and we will come to help them rebuild, see what we can do."

The fire is currently under investigation with the Burlington County Fire Marshals office to determine the cause of the fire.