A morning fire tore through South River, burned several homes and threatened many others.

A quick response by dozens of volunteers from all over Middlesex County kept the fire from spreading in the borough.

“It was a first-alarm fire, within minutes it turned into a three-alarm fire,” said South River Mayor Peter Guindi.

“I’m a teacher in Perth Amboy and I was in between and got the alert through the Nixle on my phone and I noticed it said Reid Street. I just had a really bad feeling,” said Ann Swank, of South River.

Ann’s hunch proved correct, as flames quickly engulfed her neighbor’s home, destroyed her garage and melted the siding of surrounding buildings.

“Everybody is safe and that’s the miracle about this because a house can be replaced, things can be fixed but the most important thing is everyone is OK,” she said.

According to the mayor, a tremendous response of volunteers from all over the region, including 70 firefighters, were able to keep the flames from spreading. Crews had the bulk of the fire knocked down in under a half hour.

“The fact that I got the Nixle alert around 9 and I was down here by 9:30 and the fire was almost out is amazing,” added Swank.

“We got lucky this time and only because the winds were at a calm pace. At the same time, we got lucky there was nobody in the house, with the exception of residents in the surrounding area,” said Guindi.

South River police helped evacuate the neighborhood. Additional crews from East Brunswick, Milltown, Sayreville and others all worked through the cold to put the fire out. Despite the intense flames, heat and crowded side streets, no one was hurt, including the dozens of first responders.

“Listen, it could have been worse. We got lucky. Thanks to the first responders for doing what they do,” the mayor said.

The American Red Cross is helping five people from three families displaced by the fire.