Man killed in N.J. house explosion was retired Newark police officer [Video]

The 62-year-old man killed in an accidental house explosion in South River on Thursday night that also seriously injured another man was a retired Newark police officer, officials said.

Kevin Gilbert died in the blast that leveled the home on Continental Court. Gilbert retired from the Newark Police Department in April 2016 after more than 25 years of service, the department said.

The injured man was brought to Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston with what South River Mayor Peter Guindi said were severe burns following the 7 p.m. explosion. He was listed in critical condition, a Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office spokeswoman said Friday.

Of the six other homes on Continental Court, the residents of only one other house have been allowed to return, Guindi said.

Hired in September 1990, Gilbert worked in various capacities in his …