Officials say 38-year-old Paul Leber responded to the building on Park Avenue along with other members of Engine 7, including a probationary firefighter, after the fire broke out shortly after 9 p.m.
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As conditions worsened, they were ordered out of the building. As they were exiting, Leber became disoriented and members of Engine 7 and Rescue 1 went back into the building with other firefighters and rescued him.
Leber, a 10-year veteran, was initially transported to University Hospital for treatment and was later moved to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx.
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The fire was declared under control shortly after 11 p.m.
The cause of the fire is being investigated by arson detectives from the Newark Fire Division.