Michael Marvin is lucky.
He was able to escape his house after the second fire of the day engulfed his residence on 46 S. Lake Avenue in Bergen on Monday.
Marvin says he was in his room and had just fallen asleep when he was awakened by the smell of smoke.
Marvin escaped with the clothes on his back after going back inside to get his pug dog. Fire was shooting from the roof when firefighters arrived for the second time in five hours. A second alarm was called in and the home with an in-law apartment is most likely a total loss after heavy fire, smoke and water damage.
Marvin says he is lucky to be alive.
“I was in my room. I could barely see, glad I woke up or I would have been dead.”
Fire crews were first called to Marvin’s house about 5:30p.m. on Monday afternoon. According to Deputy Chief Chuck Dodson, the earlier blaze was a fire on the stove that had some extension into the cabinets at the in-law apartment.
“We are not really sure what happened, ” says Dodson.
“When we left here earlier this evening the fire was believed to be out. The Fire investigation team is here and hopefully we get some answers here during the night.”
Marvin says there were new neighbors moving in on Monday afternoon and they had left a microwave on top of the stove and somehow the stove got turned on and the microwave caught fire.
At this evening’s fire, there was heavy fire and smoke coming from the attic and roof area of the other side of the house.
Marvin, who collects old cars, says he was able to push a 1967 Camaro out of his garage after the first fire. After this evening’s fire, his entire house is believed to be a total loss. He will most likely get assistance from the Red Cross until he is able to find a new place to live.
Marvin says he hopes to finish building a garage up the road to put his cars in for storage. Now he says he may add an apartment to the garage.