The blaze began at about 11 a.m. on Pulaski Street near the intersection of South Avenue.
One firefigher suffered smoke inhalation and was taken away by ambulance. He is in stable condition at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital.
Firefighters had a tough time battling the fire because in the apartment where the fire started, it was a case of what some are describing as hoarding conditions.
It was so difficult getting into the apartment that firefighters had to fight it from the outside.
Two hours in and firefighters were still struggling for control. Flames ate away at the roof of the six unit row house, their spread apparently aided by a common attic.
Homeowners watched helplessly.
"I have all my things in there. All my memories, all my clothes. our high schools, everything is in there," said fire victim Lela Guliashvili.
Firefighters were blocked from entering the apartment where the fire began.
"We couldn't make it past the front door or the rear door," said Dunellen Fire Chief Jonathan Scott. ("Why was that?") "There was a bunch of stuff by the door," he said.
The chief refused to elaborate, but the homeowner admits there were more than a few things stored inside her unit.
"I had put storage in my back bedroom. I had a lot of stuff, you know. I mean, not a hoarder but just that there was a lot of stuff," said resident Cathy Whitehead.
Whitehead says she's lived on that corner in Dunellen for 20 years.
Now she's not only worried about her neighbors' losses, but also about her own missing beloved pet cats, Gertie and BB.
"I've had BB for like a year. Gertie belonged to my daughter. The rest of the cats and animals got out and my neighbors," she said.