Fire consumes home in Bradley Beach Monday morning
BRADLEY BEACH — Firefighters in Bradley Beach fought a three-alarm fire at a home on 4th Avenue early Monday morning.
Witness Bud McCormick said the porch of the three-story home collapsed and appeared to be spreading to the home next door. McCormick said police and fire crews cleared the scene because of a possible gas leak.
McCormick said a woman jogging was the first to report the fire around 5 a.m.
McCormick said a man in his 50s came out of the house and said he was a brother of the home's owner, and was watching the home while the owner's family was away. A woman who lived in a garage apartment was also outside on the sidewalk.
McCormick said the heat from the flames could be felt across the street where he was standing.
The residents of a home across the street turned on their yard sprinklers to protect their home, according to McCormick, the retired director of the Jackson Memorial High School marching band.