Surveillance video provided exclusively to TLS shows the first moments of the blaze which destroyed a Lakewood family’s home.

The Surveillance video shows the first signs of fire at 23:09 (11:09 PM) on Pesach night.

The Surveillance camera did not record the next 3 minutes, however, when the camera picks up, you can see a crowd of spectators.

Sources tell TLS the first call police received was from an officer driving in the area who smelled the smoke and found the home ablaze.

The Lakewood Fire Department was on the scene in under three minutes after receiving the call, however, at that point, the fire had already reached the attic and quickly spread throughout the roof. Firefighters battled the blaze for approximately four hours.

“Had someone called it in right away, this could have had a better outcome,” a neighbor told TLS.

Rabbi Moshe Rotberg, Chaplain of the Lakewood Fire Department has told TLS multiple times, “NEVER hesitate to call the fire department even for the slightest suspicion of danger. Since it is impossible for the typical layman to determine from the time of the crisis if it poses a danger to one’s self or neighbors, one should not hesitate to call the Fire Department immediately. What may appear to the uneducated to be “nothing” may, in fact, be deadly.”

LFD Chief Jon Yahr told TLS, “A fire can double in size every minute. Those few minutes can mean the difference in extinguishing a small fire or major damage. The threat to life is tremendous as the smoke and heat can overcome fleeing occupants long before the fire will trap them.”

One firefighter who was hospitalized during the blaze has since been released from the hospital.