Fire contained to bedroom

MILLTOWN - A police official and a borough man were treated for smoke inhalation after a Sept. 12 house fire, authorities said.

Borough Police Cpl. John Keating and resident Daniel Schultz were both released from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, that same night.

The fire started in a small wastebasket of a rear bedroom of a South Wilson Avenue home. The flames made their way up the wall, then caught on the curtains.

Schultz, who lives alone at the house, reported the fire at 7:44 p.m. Firefighters arrived within three minutes, according to police.

The fire was contained in the bedroom, and firefighters ultimately cleared the scene by 10:35 p.m.

During the fire, Schultz left the single-story house through the front door, but reportedly went back inside the home to retrieve his cat. On more than one occasion, Keating went into the home after Schultz, eventually pulling him out of the house, according to Milltown Police Chief Raymond Geipel.

The cat had reportedly escaped from the house on its own and is OK.

Milltown police, firefighters and rescue squad members responded to the call. Fire departments from North Brunswick and East Brunswick were on standby.

Fire investigators are looking into the actual cause of the blaze, but fire officials have deemed it accidental in nature.

- Jessica Smith