ERMA — On Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 4:16 p.m. Lower Township police and fire departments were called to 247 Breakwater Road for a structure fire.
Patrolman Robert Smith and Detective Chris Lambert, of the Lower Township Police Department, were the first officers to arrive on scene, according to a release.
The officers were attempting to enter the residence when an occupant Hugh Hayden stumbled out of the front door with his hair and clothes burnt, the release stated. The officers then moved Hayden away from the burning residence.
Hayden was taken to Cape Regional Medical Center with 2nd and 3rd degree burns to his hands, face and head.
Under the township’s new mutual aid policy for structure fires, all three Lower Township fire companies were dispatched to the blaze. The fire was reported under control at 4:30, and the county Fire Marshal was notified.
Breakwater Road was shut down for several hours by Lower Township police due to the fire.
Police evacuated homes behind the structure as a precaution.
Hayden told police he had fallen asleep and left something on the stove, according to a report. Initial investigation of the scene determined that the fire had started in the kitchen area, the release stated.
According to Michael Ssenyonga, a former occupant of the home who was at the fire scene, Hayden is a 58-year-old former U.S. Marine.
Ssenyonga, who recently moved to a different residence, told the Herald he had visited the victim at the home just three hours before the fire was reported.
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