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Police & Fire
YOUNG HEROES: Neighborhood Kids Save Bedridden Woman After Dog Starts West Milford House Fire YOUNG HEROES: Neighborhood Kids Save Bedridden Woman After Dog Starts West Milford House Fire
Young Heroes: Neighborhood Kids Save Bedridden Woman After Dog Starts West Milford House Fire A bedridden West Milford woman's home had quickly begun filling with smoke after her dog accidentally ignited a fire on her kitchen stove. "This was close to being a fatal," one responder said. It wasn't, authorities said, because four neighborhood youngsters who heard alarms quickly ran to get help. Township Police Officers Randy Yevchak and Bill Pittelko and Company 3 Fire Chief Keith Weber forced open the door and found the Ridge Road home at the corner of Juanita Street filled with smoke shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday, May 13, Fire Public Information Officer Rich Poplaski said. The wo…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
THAT'S ALL, FOLKS: Threat From Largest North Jersey Wildfire In 13 Years Is Over, Officials Say THAT'S ALL, FOLKS: Threat From Largest North Jersey Wildfire In 13 Years Is Over, Officials Say
That'S ALL, Folks: Threat From Largest North Jersey Wildfire In 13 Years Is Over, Officials Say THE WORST IS OVER: The wildfire that marched through West Milford the past three days is 100% contained, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service reported on Saturday. The blaze, which was beaten back at first but then grew steadily over the previous 48 hours, finally topped out at 972 acres on April 15 – and that was it, the service said. Fire officials also said this would be the last of the updates from the “Kanouse Wildfire," the largest blaze in North Jersey since 2010. Ten structures in all were threatened – half of which were evacuated – yet none were seriously damaged thanks to the supp…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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IN CONTROL: North Jersey Wildfire 100% Contained, Threat Is Gone, Officials Say IN CONTROL: North Jersey Wildfire 100% Contained, Threat Is Gone, Officials Say
IN Control: North Jersey Wildfire 100% Contained, Threat Is Gone, Officials Say UPDATE: The wildfire that marched through West Milford the past three days is 100% contained, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service reported on Saturday. The blaze, which was beaten back at first but then grew steadily over the previous 48 hours, finally topped out at 972 acres on April 15 – and that was it, the service said. Fire officials also said this would be the last of the updates from the “Kanouse Wildfire," the largest blaze in North Jersey since 2010. Ten structures in all were threatened – half of which were evacuated – yet none were seriously damaged thanks to the support of fire…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
DONE AND DONE: North Jersey Wildfire Is 100% Contained, No More Updates, Authorities Say DONE AND DONE: North Jersey Wildfire Is 100% Contained, No More Updates, Authorities Say
Done AND Done: North Jersey Wildfire Is 100% Contained, No More Updates, Authorities Say The worst is over: The wildfire that marched through West Milford the past three days is 100% contained, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service reported on Saturday. The blaze, which was beaten back at first but then grew steadily over the previous 48 hours, finally topped out at 972 acres on April 15 – and that was it, the service said. Fire officials also said this would be the last of the updates from the “Kanouse Wildfire," the largest blaze in North Jersey since 2010. Ten structures in all were threatened – half of which were evacuated – yet none were seriously damaged thanks to the supp…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
FINITO: North Jersey Wildfire 100% Contained, Threat Is Over, Officials Say FINITO: North Jersey Wildfire 100% Contained, Threat Is Over, Officials Say
Finito: North Jersey Wildfire 100% Contained, Threat Is Over, Officials Say The worst is over: The wildfire that marched through West Milford the past three days is 100% contained, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service reported on Saturday. The blaze, which was beaten back at first but then grew steadily over the previous 48 hours, finally topped out at 972 acres on April 15 – and that was it, the service said. Fire officials also said this would be the last of the updates from the “Kanouse Wildfire," the largest blaze in North Jersey since 2010. Ten structures in all were threatened – half of which were evacuated – yet none were seriously damaged thanks to the supp…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
GREAT NEWS: North Jersey Wildfire 100% Contained, Authorities Report GREAT NEWS: North Jersey Wildfire 100% Contained, Authorities Report
Great NEWS: North Jersey Wildfire 100% Contained, Authorities Report UPDATE: The worst is over: The wildfire that marched through West Milford the past three days is 100% contained, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service reported on Saturday. The blaze, which was beaten back at first but then grew steadily over the previous 48 hours, finally topped out at 972 acres on April 15 – and that was it, the service said. Fire officials also said this would be the last of the updates from the “Kanouse Wildfire," the largest blaze in North Jersey since 2010. Ten structures in all were threatened – half of which were evacuated – yet none were seriously damaged thanks to …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Homeowner Charged With Arson, Aggravated Assault In Destructive Fire Overlooking Greenwood Lake Homeowner Charged With Arson, Aggravated Assault In Destructive Fire Overlooking Greenwood Lake
Homeowner Charged With Arson, Aggravated Assault In Destructive Fire Overlooking Greenwood Lake UPDATE: A West Milford man was charged with conducting an illegal backyard burn that ignited a rapidly-spreading weekend blaze that sent two firefighters to the hospital while destroying one home and damaging two others on a hill overlooking Greenwood Lake. Keith Scherer, 45, of Hewitt, was burning wood and debris in a fire pit behind his Lakeside Road home when the brush caught fire and flames spread up the hill in the Hewitt section of West Milford, a little over a half-mile from the New York State border, shortly before 12:30 p.m., March 18, responders had told Daily Voice. Scherer was …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Resident's Illegal Burn Ignites Blaze Overlooking Greenwood Lake: Two FFs Injured, Home Gone Resident's Illegal Burn Ignites Blaze Overlooking Greenwood Lake: Two FFs Injured, Home Gone
Resident's Illegal Burn Ignites Blaze Overlooking Greenwood Lake: Two FFs Injured, Home Gone UPDATE: A resident conducting an illegal burn on a hill overlooking Greenwood Lake ignited a rapidly-spreading brush fire Saturday that engulfed one home, damaged two others and sent two firefighters to the hospital, authorities confirmed. The resident was burning wood and debris in a fire pit when the brush caught fire and flames spread up the hill in the Hewitt section of West Milford, a little over a half-mile from the New York State border, shortly before 12:30 p.m., March 18, West Milford Fire Marshal Michael Moscatello said. Two firefighters were transported from the scene to Chilton…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Firefighters Injured, Homes Damaged By Brush Blaze Overlooking Greenwood Lake Firefighters Injured, Homes Damaged By Brush Blaze Overlooking Greenwood Lake
Firefighters Injured, Homes Damaged By Brush Blaze Overlooking Greenwood Lake UPDATE: A resident conducting an illegal burn on a hill overlooking Greenwood Lake ignited a rapidly-spreading brush fire Saturday that engulfed one home, damaged two others and sent two firefighters to the hospital, authorities confirmed. The resident was burning wood and debris in a fire pit when the brush caught fire and flames spread up the hill in the Hewitt section of West Milford, a little over a half-mile from the New York State border, shortly before 12:30 p.m., March 18, West Milford Fire Marshal Michael Moscatello said. Two firefighters were transported from the scene to Chilton …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Judge Refuses Release Of West Milford Security Salesman Charged With Sexually Assaulting Woman Judge Refuses Release Of West Milford Security Salesman Charged With Sexually Assaulting Woman
Judge Refuses Release Of West Milford Security Salesman Charged With Sexually Assaulting Woman A judge refused to release a security company salesman from West Milford who’s charged with sexually assaulting a township woman. Austin Hopler sexually assaulted the woman -- who, like him, is 25 -- following an event at a local home last June 6, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and West Milford Township Police Chief James Devore alleged in a joint release. Hopler was arrested last Monday, Jan. 9, following an investigation by township police and members of the prosecutor’s Special Victims Unit, they said. The six-year U.S. Marine Corps veteran – who’d been stationed at Fort Di…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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'Was That An Earthquake?' North Jersey Asks 'Was That An Earthquake?' North Jersey Asks
'Was That An Earthquake?' North Jersey Asks "What was that?" was the question that rumbled through a large swath of North Jersey and into New York State early Wednesday afternoon. Mine blasting? A sonic boom? Seneca guns? Unconfirmed reports of an earthquake or "seismic-like event" stretched from Newton and Sparta in Sussex County to as far east as the Palisades in Alpine beginning at 12:52 p.m. Jan. 11.  There were similar calls in several southern New York State counties, as well as in the Poconos in Pennsylvania. All are basically in the area of the Ramapo Fault Line. The longest and oldest in the Northeast -- at 185 m…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Local Man Charged, Released In Rash Of West Milford Vehicle Thefts Local Man Charged, Released In Rash Of West Milford Vehicle Thefts
Local Man Charged, Released In Rash Of West Milford Vehicle Thefts West Milford police nabbed a local man in connection with a string of vehicle burglaries, then had to let him go. Tyler J. Nowinski, 21, of Hewitt, was seized after an alert resident quickly called police to report a stranger carrying a skateboard who was trying the door handle of a vehicle parked in a Lakeshore Drive doorway, Chief James DeVore said Tuesday, Jan. 10. Police had been investigating several vehicle burglaries, thefts and failed attempts burglaries in the Upper Greenwood Lake and Hewitt sections of the township dating back to Nov. 26, the chief said. Detectives tied Nowinski …

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by Jerry DeMarco