Mom, 2 kids jump to safety during 4-alarm Paterson fire; 28 left homeless

PATERSON, N.J. (WABC) -- A four-alarm fire burned through several homes in Paterson on Friday morning, forcing a mother and two children to jump from a second-story window to escape the flames.

The fire started in one house on Ellison Street just before 4 a.m. and quickly spread to two others on either side of it. Officials say 28 residents -- 10 adults and 18 children -- are all accounted for, while four people had to be hospitalized at St. Joseph's Medical Center.

Fire and smoke alarms were apparently not working, because residents woke up to thick black smoke and struggled to escape. The structures were completely destroyed, but one victim told Eyewitness News that she doesn't care about personal items but is just happy people stepped up to rescue them.

"My wedding picture, pictures of my boys, pictures that I can't get back," victim Vanessa Lewis said.

Lewis, her husband and two sons have little left after the fire, the pregnant mom says she's glad it wasn't worse.

"This man right here, he saved everybody's life," she said. "He woke the whole house, woke us all up told us to get out. If it wasn't for him, we would not be here right now."

The man she was talking about was third-floor resident Jermain Stewart, who said he initially heard a fire alarm but didn't think much of it, until he heard screaming. So he went door to door as the flames quickly grew.

"The flames were coming out first floor, and people had already jumped out the window," he said.

A mother, along with her 6- and 4-year-old children, were forced from their second-floor apartment the only way they could escape.

"There were three people who jumped from the building," Paterson Fire Chief Michael Postorino said. "Those are the three that were transported to the hospital."

One man also suffered smoke inhalation, but more than two dozen people lost everything.

"Material things really are nothing," victim Q Lewis said. "Anything that can be lost can be gained, you know what I mean? So we're good."

For Stewart, he says he's been through worse.

"You just persevere," he said. "It's just material objects. I went through Katrina, so I've went through massive loss before. I lost everything in Katrina."

The fire is still being investigated, and officials don't have a clear indication of what caused it.