2 jump from second-floor window to escape blaze

HIGHLAND PARK — When borough Fire Chief Jay Littman arrived at a rooming house consumed in flames Tuesday morning, he said he “knew it was very bad.”

Immediately, he called for other departments to respond to the scene.Outside the home, as the flames continued to roar, he heard a window crash and he looked up.

I looked up at the second-story window, and a girl literally jumped out the window,” he recalled. “(We) were in the process of going to get her, and she jumped out.” He said a man then also exited the window and climbed down the fire escape.

Fire personnel arrived at the house on South Aidelaide Avenue at about 10:30 a.m., according to police. Though they had initially gotten the blaze under control, firefighters had to battle the fire a second time after another flare up inside around 1 p.m., according to Littman.

Officials said the house had been destroyed.

Two other people home at the time were able to escape before firefighters arrived at the scene, Littman added.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the county Prosecutor’s Office and the Middlesex County Fire Marshal.

Several fire departments were called to the scene, including Highland Park, Edison, New Brunswick, Metuchen, South Plainfield and East Franklin.

Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.