Elderly man dies, brother and blind sister saved from Edison fire

EDISON —A 75-year-old man sleeping in a basement died in a house fire early Wednesday morning.

The man's visiting 53-year-old son, who was visiting the one-story home on Livingston Avenue, was able to rescue two of the deceased man's siblings — a blind 60-year-old woman and a 70-year-old man, according to Edison Fire Captain Andy Toth. The fire broke out at 5:09 a.m., Toth said.

The fire was too intense for the man to go back in and rescue his father, according to Toth. He said said one of the family's two pet dogs was missing.

The 70-year-old man was treated for burns at the Burn Center at Saint Barnabas in Livingston. The surviving woman and the 53-year-old — who is the two surviving seniors' nephew — suffered smoke inhalation, according to Toth.

Toth said the home was a total loss, with the interior of the home taking the most damage. He said the Edison Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office Fatal Unit are investigating the cause of the fire but it appears to have started in the basement.

Toth did not disclose the identities of anyone involved in the fire.

The Red Cross New Jersey chapter helped with temporary housing for the family.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or on Twitter @DanalexanderNJ.