No smoke detectors in fatal trailer park fire
Neighbors stunned by fire that kills three at Bayshore Manor
BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer
Three Hazlet residents, including a 9- year-old boy, were killed in a fire that rolled quickly through a trailer home in the early morning hours on Sunday.

Matthew Paduano, 24, his wife, Katherine Arndt, 37, and her son, Zachary, 9, weren't able to make it out of the home, located in Bayshore Manor, a mobile home park near Route 36 in the West Keansburg section of town. The initial fire alarm was dispatched just after 5 a.m. to each of the township's three fire companies, according to township Fire Chief Michael Bracken. Within 40 minutes, the fire was brought under control, but the damage had been done.

"The West Keansburg Fire Company was the first to respond, but even by then, the fire was going pretty good," Bracken said. "The whole time we were there, people were just very stunned."

In all, five local fire departments reported to the scene, none reporting any injuries to firefighters. According to Bracken, no other residents were injured.

Two of the deceased were found in a rear bedroom and the third was found in the other bedroom. By Monday, a memorial had been erected, with a wreath, flowers and balloons.

Township fire official John Beslanovitz went to the scene the next day, and said that the trailer was boarded up and was most likely rendered uninhabitable. It will be taken off the grounds in the near future, he said. A neighboring trailer was slightly damaged and a mailbox was partially melted as well.

At the scene, Beslanovitz said that he witnessed many people milling around the vicinity of the trailer.

"People were definitely upset. This isn't the kind of thing that happens every day around here," Beslanovitz said. "It really is tragic."

Beslanovitz also noted that in the nine mobile home parks in the township, only two, Garden Park and Mieleville, have fire hydrants on the property.

"The fire department was on the scene very quickly and maybe having hydrants available could have saved a few precious seconds," Beslanovitz said.

Monmouth County First Assistant Prosecutor Peter Warshaw confirmed that the fire has been ruled an accident. Warshaw could not confirm that there was no smoke detector in the unit, something that could have prevented the tragedy from ever happening.

"I know that they didn't have one in that home," Beslanovitz said. "Starting this week, all three of our fire companies will be going around to hand out detectors to anybody that is in need of one. They're only needed when selling your home, but still, we feel it's important that all of the mobile homes in this township have one."

Beslanovitz said that on Monday, when he went around handing smoke detectors out, there were many residents who didn't have one.