''Bullets were flying' at Parsippany garage fire

PARSIPPANY - Firefighters had to battle flames and bullets early Wednesday morning as a residential fire in the Lake Hiawatha section  gutted a detached garage where ammunition was stored.

"There were bullets flying all around the place," said Adam Renzulli, owner of the residence at 43 Chesapeake Drive, on Wednesday morning as he assessed the damage to the detached two-car garage, only a few feet from his tidy, expanded bungalow. "(The Lake Hiawatha Fire Department) did a great job. Thank God no one was hurt."

Lake Hiawatha Fire District 4 Chief Brian Cleary said his department responded about 12:35 a.m. on a report of a garage fire, with an additional warning that ammunition had been stored in the structure.

"We are hunters," Renzulli said, adding his guns are stored under lock and key in his father's house.

Renzulli was home with his son at the time of the fire.

Cleary said District 4 was joined at the scene by Brandon Schwiezer and the Rockaway Neck District 5  crew, along with responders from the township Police Department, Rockaway Neck First Aid Squad and Boonton's Rapid Intervention Crew.

No one was injured, and the fire was extinguished with only minimal damage to the home, where a few windows on a side vestibule shattered from the heat of the fire that fully engulfed the garage.

Firefighters could hear ammunition firing from inside the garage, Cleary said, but said no bullets or fragmentation from any of the rounds were found outside the garage.

"It did put a slight damper on the suppression end because we had to keep a distance and couldn't quite attack as we normally would," Cleary said. "But in the end, fire went out, and most importantly, everyone went home safe."

Police officer Brian Conover said no threat to the public was caused by the "ignition" of the ammunition, and the fire is under investigation by fire investigator Detective Marcin Czajka. Cleary said the fire is not considered to be of suspicious origin.

Renzulli said the fire caused extensive damage to items in the garage,  including a collection of old records, brand-new exercise equipment, a gas grill and more than $10,000 worth of tools he uses in his occupation as a chimney contractor. No cars were parked in the driveway leading to the garage at the time of the fire.

He also lost a riding mower stored  behind the garage in a plastic shed, which melted from the heat from the fire.

"Now comes the hard part, arguing with the insurance company," Renzulli said. "We were just putting Christmas lights out yesterday. Be grateful for what you got."

Still, Renzulli is grateful for the firefighters who caught the raging blaze before it reached his home.

"They will be getting something from me for Christmas," he said.

Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-917-9242; wwesthoven@GannettNJ.com.

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