Monroe woman, 81, dies after fire

MONROE - An 81-year-old township woman whose clothing caught fire when she was taking food out of her oven Oct. 19 has died.

Constance Suttmeier, a resident of the Rossmoor retirement community, died Oct. 27 from severe burns to her head, upper torso and arms.

Suttmeier was retrieving a casserole from her wall oven around 7:53 p.m. when her shirt caught fire. Her husband, Fred, 88, helped to extinguish the fire while awaiting emergency services' arrival.

Constance was taken by Medivac to St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, where she was treated until her death.

Fred Suttmeier was treated for minor burns and released from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick following the incident.