Florence Township fire victim remembered as devout church elder and volunteer

ByCorey Davis WPVI logo
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Florence Township fire victim remembered as devout church elder and volunteer
Florence Township fire victim remembered as devout church elder and volunteer. Trish Hartman reports during Action News at 4pm on December 3, 2019.

FLORENCE TWP., New Jersey (WPVI) -- Family, neighbors and a church community are remembering the victim of a Florence Township, New Jersey house fire as a dedicated volunteer.

Two people managed to get out of the home alive Tuesday morning: the victim's daughter and another person who lived in a rear apartment.

Family identified the victim as 77-year-old Bob Comisky, who suffered a spinal injury years ago, and used a wheelchair to get around.

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"He was apparently in his wheelchair. They said they found in him his wheelchair. He couldn't move that well," said Charlotte Comisky, the victim's former wife.

Flames shot from the roof of the house on Amboy Avenue in the early morning hours on Tuesday.

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Police say the fire started around 2 a.m.

"I took the dog out to see what was going on and I saw the smoke. It just scared me," said neighbor Jordan Cleveland.

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At the Robbinsville Seventh-Day Adventist Community Church, Head Elder Michelle Fisher remembered Comisky as a devoted church elder and volunteer.

"He was here, he was active. And if he could've been more active he would've found a way to do anything he needed to do. That's just how he was," said Fisher. "Bob was one of those guys, even though he only had his arms, he would do anything for you."

Neighbors say they'll miss Comisky's giving nature.

"He would take up food collections. He actually brought me over one one day. And I didn't need it but he was like 'here, have abundance.' It's a shame," said neighbor Charles Russell.

Investigators are still working to determine a cause of the fire, but Florence Township Police do not suspect foul play.