Point Beach Police Save Man from House Destroyed by Fire

Two Point Beach police officers are credited with saving a man found "unresponsive" in a house fully engulfed in smoke early Wednesday morning, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

Officers Kyle Boturla and Chris Mosca rescued a 78-year-old man who had become overcome by smoke as he tried to flee his home at 108 Washington Ave., said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the prosecutor's office.


A neighbor called police at 4:16 a.m., reporting the fire, Della Fave said. 

Boturla, who has also served as a volunteer Point Beach firefighter, arrived first and was then joined by Mosca. The pair, after trying in vain to get into the house through the front and then the back, decided to kick the door down.

"That decision was a very good one," Della Fave said. "They got down on their hands and knees, trying to stay under the smoke, and found an unresponsive male by the stairs by the back of the house."

They carried him from the home and, later when he was responsive, found out he had gone to bed at about 10 p.m., awoke to the house filling with smoke and had tried to get out, Della Fave said.

"But he was overwhelmed by the smoke," Della Fave said.

The man was treated at the scene and then transported by the Point Pleasant First Aid and Emergency Squad to Ocean Medical Center, Brick, and treated for minor burns and smoke inhalation, officials said.

Della Fave praised the officers for their "tremendous heroic effort." 

"Running into a burning building is one of the bravest things someone can do," Della Fave said.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, pending an ongoing investigation by the prosecutor's office, the Ocean County Sheriff, the Ocean County Fire Marshal and Point Beach detectives.

The volunteer Point Beach fire department and the Point Pleasant First Aid and Emergency Squad were also at the scene, fighting the fire and assisting with first aid and emergency response. The Point Borough Fire Department, Point Boro First Aid Squad and the fire departments from South Wall and Brielle also assisted.

Boturla and Mosca were also among the police officers honored for exemplary work by the Point Beach Mayor and Council at a council meeting in January.