A Toms River First Aid Squad captain had to be rescued from the basement of her home Thursday after a fire swept through it, killing at least three pets.
“This family lost everything except for the clothes on their backs, two weeks before Christmas,” a Facebook post from the Toms River First Aid Squad stated.
The blaze appears to have started in the garage of the home of Alyssa Golembeski, located on East Rolling Hills Court in Toms River around 11 a.m., according to the Toms River Police.
When firefighters and police arrived, the garage was fully engulfed in flames and Golembeski had to be rescued from the home through a rear window, police said.
She suffered burns burns to her back and soles of her feet, authorities said.
The fire was extinguished by 12:30 p.m., but the house was left uninhabitable and several of Golembeski’s pets died, officials said.