After the Fire: Tearing Down Woodbridge Village

They escaped with little more than the shirts on their backs when two buildings at Avenel's apartments went up in flames earlier this month.

Yesterday former residents of the burnt out shells were waiting as an enormous backhoe gingerly knocked down what's left of the buildings torched by the flames.

One hundred residents in 52 apartments were in the July 10 fire.

Refugees from the flames waited while recognizeable pieces of their lives poked out from the wreck as the demotion slowly progressed. They retrieved what they could; for many, that meant , documents that would be very difficult to replace and necessary for them to live and work.

Woodbridge-area businesses and residents responded in force to help the families of the blaze. The First Presbyterian Church of Avenel was the rallying point for ; other fundraising efforts are for gift cards and toiletries, all the other essentials the victims need to try to put their lives back together.

No one was seriously injured in the fire. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.