VICTIM IDENTIFIED IN RIDGEFIELD HOUSE EXPLOSION

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgefield NJ, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced an investigation into the house explosion/fire at 360 Abbott Avenue, Ridgefield, NJ on June 17, 2019. The investigation is being conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Robert Anzilotti, the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office under the direction of Sheriff Anthony Cureton, and the Ridgefield Police Department under the direction of Chief Thomas Gallagher.

At approximately 11:30 a.m. on Monday, June 17, 2019, the Bergen County Public Safety Operations Center received a report of a house explosion/fire at 360 Abbott Avenue, Ridgefield, NJ. Members of the Ridgefield Police Department arrived on scene and located a man buried under debris in the rear basement portion of the home. They were able to extricate the man, 48-year-old Mark A. Schellack, from the debris, and he was transported to Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) for treatment. Schellack, who lived in the home, was badly burned. He was later airlifted to Saint Barnabas Medical Center for further treatment, but in the early morning hours of Tuesday, June 18, 2019, Mark Schellack succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.

The investigation into the cause of the explosion is ongoing, but it appears that the source was natural gas. PSE&G conducted a pressure test and concluded that there were not any leaks in the gas line spanning from the street to the home, indicating that the explosion was exclusive to an event within the residence.