Downed wire starts blaze that levels barn
Firefighters on scene for four hours before JCP&L employees arrive
BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

SCOTT PILLING staff A fire tore through a Route 524 barn in Upper Freehold, causing major damage. Most of the structure burned to the ground except for some metal accessories.

Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) continues to investigate what caused a downed electric wire that ignited a barn in Upper Freehold during last month’s snowstorm.

Area firefighters were unable to fight the blaze, which began around 2 a.m. on Feb. 12. The fire destroyed the barn, located on the corner of Route 524 and Imlaystown-Hightstown Road. No one was injured in the fire.

Homeowners Maureen and Bruce Nevins were using the barn as a storage area for their catering business supplies while their garage underwent renovation for use as a commercial kitchen.

In addition to the tools, bicycles and commercial kitchen appliances in the barn, the family also lost all their Christmas decorations. The Nevins have won the township’s holiday decorating contest several times.

Maureen Nevins said the fire began during the peak of the snowstorm. She said a wire broke from a line in front of the barn on Route 524 and “the whole sky lit up.”

People traveling along the road pulled over to tell the family the barn was on fire, she said. Her husband and a neighbor called the fire department.

Nevins said she evacuated the children from the house. Both of her daughters, ages 11 and 8, had friends sleeping over that night, she said.

Nevins said she could not thank the fire companies enough for their efforts. Fire companies from Allentown, Millstone and New Egypt (in Plumsted) all responded to the scene, according to Nevins.

She said firefighters responded quickly but were handicapped because JCP&L did not come out to shut off the power.

Allentown’s Hope Fire Company Chief Brad Carter said the snowstorm extinguished the fire.

“We couldn’t get in because it was a transmission line,” he said. “We couldn’t start anything until the line was cleared.”

Carter said firefighters were on the scene for about four hours before JCP&L arrived. The fire company arrived at 2:12 a.m., he said, with JCP&L employees making it to the scene at 6:13 a.m.

According to Carter, JCP&L had a dispatch mix-up so the utility company did not receive a call regarding the fire.

By the time JCP&L arrived, Carter said, the barn had already burned down. According to Carter, a small area with brush next to the barn caught fire when the live wire went down, which caused the barn to burn down quickly.

Carter said another power line went down at 5:30 a.m., sending primary voltage to four houses across the street from the barn, located in the Stone Tavern Estates subdivision. He said one house had its electrical panel blown off a wall, which smoked out the house.

JCP&L spokesman Ron Morano said an investigation into the incident is ongoing. He emphasized that the event was caused by the severe weather conditions that night.