Heavy fire shot through the roof of the William H. Brown Academy on Bergen Street, which has been permanently closed.
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The fire started in two rooms of the building at 11:45 p.m. and firefighters said it appeared to be under control within 30 minutes.
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Firefighters and fire marshals remained at the scene.
At 2:38 a.m., there was a new report from firefighters that there was a fire in the midsection of the building, said Newark Fire Chief Rufus Jackson.
"The fact it is such a large building may be why the fire grew so fast before we got a chance to stretch our lines and extinguish the fire," said jackson. "Then, the weather is cold, so we have to avoid slip and falls and injuries from our firefighters."
Firefighters stretched water lines for several blocks.
Some furniture and books were left in the school, which is currently closed.