Family Escapes Injury in Carriage House Fire

The Montclair Fire Department responded to a multiple-alarm house fire on Sunday, March 9, at approximately 11 p.m. at  331 Claremont Ave. 

The building—the carriage house on the Georgian Inn property—housed a business on the first floor and an apartment on the second floor. The second floor apartment was occupied by a family of four at the time of the fire. All evacuated the premises safely.

The Montclair Emergency Dispatch Center received numerous 911 calls regarding the fire, including a call from the apartment tenants. 

Upon arrival on the scene, heavy fire was coming from the second floor window. Firefighters made an aggressive attack on the blaze and brought it under control in 39 minutes. The fire was contained to the master bedroom, however the second floor apartment saw extensive heat and smoke damage and the first floor business suffered water damage throughout the area.

Firefighters remained on the scene until 2 a.m. Monday morning. Battalion Chief Gregory Murray was the incident commander for the fire.

There were no civilian or firefighter injuries.

Montclair was assisted at the fire scene by the Bloomfield Fire Department. While all Montclair fire units were fighting the fire, the Township was covered by the West Orange, East Orange, Cedar Grove and Clifton fire departments.

The fire was investigated by the department investigative team led by Fire Official John Thomas and ruled to be accidental, caused by a faulty electrical switch.

Submitted by the Township of Montclair