FATAL FIRE IN PAULSBORO (Gloucester County)
Press Release from GCPO
On Wednesday, October 18, 2023, at approximately 5:15 p.m., the Paulsboro Police Department
was dispatched to 29 Roosevelt Street, Paulsboro, New Jersey, for the report of a dwelling fire with
entrapment. Upon police arrival, the residence was observed to be actively on fire. The Paulsboro Fire
Department, along with mutual aid from the Gibbstown Fire Department, East Greenwich Fire
Department, West Deptford Fire Department, Logan Township Fire Department, and Mantua Township
Fire Department, arrived on scene and were able to control and extinguish the fire. A male was
subsequently found deceased inside of the residence.
The deceased male was identified as 65-year-old, Clarence A. Johnson, a resident of 29
Roosevelt Street. A post-mortem examination by the Gloucester County Medical Examiner’s Office was
conducted and a determination of the cause of death remains pending at this time. The fire is being
investigated collaboratively by the Gloucester County Fire Marshal’s Office, Gloucester County
Prosecutor’s Office, and Paulsboro Police Department.
Anyone with additional information relevant to this investigation is encouraged to contact Det.
Alex Phillips of the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office at 856-384-5529 or Det. Gary Lowell of the
Paulsboro Police Department at 856-423-6222.