Two days after a pre-dawn fire destroyed their Dublin Road home, Brooke Flammang and Matt Newberry stood among the blackened remains Tuesday afternoon, pointing out where bedrooms, a garage and a sunroom once stood. Fire Marshal Andrew Fosina Jr. of the Hopewell Fire Department walked the property with them, reviewing what happened in the early morning hours on Monday and confirming that the blaze was not suspicious.
“It spread so fast,” Flammang said. “From the moment we woke up to when the house filled with black smoke was about 15 seconds.” Flammang said it appeared the fire began in the garage.
The Fire
The fire was first reported at 2:20 a.m. Monday, when dispatchers received a call for a dwelling with possible victims trapped at 15 Dublin Road. Crews from Pennington, Hopewell Borough and Hopewell Township quickly responded, joined by mutual aid from across Mercer County.
Radio traffic shows Assistant Chief 51 confirming a working fire on arrival and striking a first alarm. Within minutes, units reported “fire throughout” the structure and escalated to a second alarm with tanker assignments to secure water supply. Firefighters drew water from hydrants on Delaware Avenue and Pennington-Titusville Road as tankers shuttled additional loads.
Commanders later ordered crews out of the building and shifted to defensive operations as flames overtook the home.
Escape and Loss
Flammang and Newberry were home, asleep for the night, with two of Newberry’s children home at the time. The teens were awakened by the sound of glass breaking and alerted their father. Within moments, smoke alarms activated. Newberry rushed to get the children out a side door while Flammang escaped through the front.
Flammang’s three children were not in the home that night, staying with their father. “It was just his two that were here with us,” she said. “Which, again, I don’t know if we could, like, getting all five of them out would have been a lot.”
As they fled, a propane tank on the porch ignited, shooting flames into the night sky. Newberry inhaled smoke and was briefly hospitalized for evaluation but has since recovered.
All of the family members escaped safely. Both family cars, hybrids parked in the driveway, were destroyed along with nearly all of their household belongings.
Picking Up the Pieces
Flammang, a professor of biology at NJIT and a Princeton-affiliated researcher, and Newberry, an engineer at Bristol Myers Squibb, are now working through insurance and figuring out what is next while staying in an area hotel. With five children between them—ranging from elementary to high school—the couple is urgently searching for a local rental so the kids can easily get to school.
Neighbors immediately stepped in, providing blankets, charging stations and even loaner vehicles. “The outpouring of support has been incredible,” Flammang said.
Friends took the kids shopping on Monday so they’d all have clothes, shoes and the essentials for the start of school.
A GoFundMe campaign launched by family friend Jessica Ware, an entomologist at the American Museum of Natural History, has raised more than $19,000 as of Tuesday night. The fundraiser notes: “Our dear friend and colleague Brooke lost her home and all of her belongings to a fire last night. She and her family survived, but they have lost everything. Please consider contributing if you can, as Brooke, Matt and their five kids recover. They have a place to stay but the road to recovery is going to be long, as everything burned, including their cars, clothes, computers, etc.” View the fundraiser here.
Neighbors have also started collecting gift cards for the family since they are still figuring out what they’ll need and where they’ll be living.
What’s Next
Flammang and Newberry say they hope to rebuild on their Dublin Road property but expect the process to take at least a year. For now, their focus is on maintaining stability for the children.
“The only thing that matters is that everyone got out safely,” Flammang said, looking over the remains of her home. “We lost almost everything else, but we still have each other.”
