Fire at Runnymeade Parkway Home Remains Under Investigation

As of 3 p.m. Monday, the cause of a residential fire that began in the back of a two-story home at 176 Runnymeade Parkway on Sunday, April 3 is still under investigation and the house remains uninhabitable.

While no injuries were reported, the blaze appeared to have been related to the chimney, said New Providence Fire Chief Ralph Parlapiano, who received the call on Sunday at 4:52 p.m. after a neighbor called 911.

“We’re not definitely sure [what caused the fire]. We think it was the chimney pipe from a wood burning fireplace,” Parlapiano told Patch Monday afternoon. “[The fire] burnt through the roof in that one corner, but it wasn’t in danger of collapsing. Most of the fire was contained to the outside of the building.”

Parlapiano said he believes a family of five resides at the Runnymeade Parkway home and the family has been displaced until further notice.

“The electric was shut off, the gas was shut off. They have to get an electrician in there to straighten out the electric in that one room because the electric was compromised,” Parlapiano said. “Then, they can get the power turned back on and then they have to clean up. There was fire damage in the upstairs room and the downstairs room on that [side of the house]. The rest of the house wasn’t fire damage, but there was smoke damage.”

Parlapiano said an electrician was at the house today to access the situation, but he does not know when the family can go back to their home.

“[It depends] on what the electrician finds there and if the electric company will hook them back up. They disconnected the power from the pole,” Parlapiano said.

Parlapiano said the American Red Cross was notified to contact the family for assistance, but he thinks the family stayed with friends last night.

The New Providence, Berkeley Heights, Chatham Borough and Chatham Township fire departments responded to the scene on Sunday. The Springfield and Mountainside departments manned the New Providence station in case of an emergency.

— Liz Alterman contributed to this report.