Resident near North Brunswick warehouse fire able to return home
NORTH BRUNSWICK (WABC) -- Slowly but surely, the residents in the Heartwood Condominiums in North Brunswick are returning to their homes. About 200 residents are just glad to put their lives back in order.
"I stayed in several hotels. It's good to be home, and I'm just grateful that we are all fine," says resident Veronica Jones.
The smile on Jones' face said it all - she was so happy to be coming home.
Greeted with a bucket of supplies, residents were welcomed home. A long line of cars stretched around the block, filled with others anxiously waiting to be given the go-ahead to return to their condominiums.
"It's a relief to get back home - it has been an exhausting four or five days. I lost track of time, I don't even know what day it is," says Leslie Diaz.
In the early morning hours on Wednesday, fire broke out in a large North Brunswick warehouse. Flames spread quickly through, and destroyed eight businesses in the area. Stored inside the warehouse were a myriad of home furnishing products. A plastics company also quickly ignited.
"We've extinguished everyone, we've dug them up with the equipment...and we extinguished everyone that we had," said North Brunswick Fire Chief Donald Salzmann.
Monitoring air quality was also a big concern. Officials needed to make sure it was safe for residents to return to their homes.
"We had an all clear to begin returning people to their homes, and we should start that process," said North Brunswick Mayor Francis Womack.
Many of the 200 residents either went to stay with relatives, or sought shelter in hotels, which some complained were expensive.
"We have spent over 300 dollars. This is not right," says Michael East.
"There were hotels in the area that at least were not giving any kind of breaks or discounts. I'm disappointed by that, I must say," adds Mayor Womack.
Demolition crews are now beginning what appears to be a long process of clearing twisted steel and other debris while investigators look for a cause.
While many residents are weary, they praised firefighters and others for keeping them safe.
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