RED BANK: PREPARING FOR THE NEXT ONE

Three days after a raging fire that destroyed a home and injured five people, including four firefighters just one block away, members of the Red Bank volunteer fire and first aid squads conducted a previously scheduled training exercise simulating multiple emergencies Sunday.

The scenario included a “fire” and “crash” by a car into a Herbert Street house owned by St. Anthony of Padua parish. The structure is slated for demolition this month, to be replaced by a new social services facility.

Among the participants was a group of teenage fire cadets, in blue helmets, one of whom broke a finger helping out in the Leonard Street firefighting effort Thursday, a blaze fire officials called one of the most challenging in years.

Meantime, Father Alberto Tamayo, who heads the St. Anthony congregation, tells redbankgreen that the family displaced by the Leonard Street fire found temporary housing with relatives. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)