Explosion Leaves Crestwood Drive Home Uninhabitable

Two occupants in a Crestwood Drive home climbed down a ladder from a second-floor window after an explosion occurred in the home Monday morning, Madison's fire chief said.

The explosion filled the home with smoke and left it uninhabitable, Madison Fire Chief Lou DeRosa said. An exotic bird in the house also survived the explosion and was removed from the home.

The cause of the explosion, which blasted out a second-floor window and was called in around 8:45 a.m., is under investigation, he said. It does not appear to be suspicious, he said.

DeRosa said an explosion occurred at the same address during Tropical Storm Irene.

Firefighters forced through the locked front door and ran a hose to the basement to extinguish a fire there, Fire Chief Lou DeRosa said.

The residents climbed down a ladder that was run to a second-floor window by a neighbor or contractor, he said. No injuries were reported.

The Madison Electric Department and PSE&G shut off power and gas to the residence. Madison police and the Madison Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Chatham, Cedar Knolls, Florham Park and Morris Township fire departments responded to assist at the scene, DeRosa said.