2 dead after 3-alarm fire tears through Paterson home
PATERSON, New Jersey (WABC) -- A three-alarm fire killed two people in Paterson, New Jersey on Friday morning.
The flames broke out on North 7th Street just after 2:30 a.m.
One woman described fleeing the fire with her pets. She said her dog alerted her to the fire.
"He was barking so much, I got out of bed and I opened the door and all of the side of the house was on fire," said Lia Lamela, a resident. "I ran back in just to grab him and my cats and ran back out, and the whole walkway to get outside to the sidewalk was completely in flames. I couldn't get in front of the house, I had to wait in the back for the firefighters to come."
One of her cats is missing.
"Everything is gone. Everything everything. Kitchen upstairs the bedroom. Our bedroom. All the tiles, ceiling, all of it," said George Martinez, an impacted neighbor.
Seventeen people were displaced by the fire and unable to get back into their building. The Red Cross is providing them assistance.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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