Smoke-filled Jersey City fire displaces families, injures 6 firefighters and 1 resident
JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (WABC) -- A fire that began in a basement garage in Jersey City on Thursday sent thick black smoke through the night sky, spread through two buildings on Stegman Street and displaced multiple families, fire officials said.
The fire started around 5:30 p.m. and climbed three floors before breaking through the roof, according to fire officials.
About 80 firefighters, assisted by Bayonne crews, responded to the scene. The blaze took approximately 90 minutes to bring under control.
Residents described seeing heavy smoke as the fire spread.
"All black. Just poof. Just like that," resident Imani Yasin said.
A resident named Jay said, "it looked like it was some type of warehouse fire you know where you see the thick black smoke throughout the clouds."
Inside one of the burning buildings were a 12-year-old boy, his 1-year-old sister and their grandmother.
"I thought she was cooking something because I didn't see anything behind me, but when I looked behind me, I saw smoke coming from the vent," resident Jair Alaye said.
Alaye called his mother while helping his sister and grandmother escape.
"He was crying. He was scared, like 'mommy the house is burning, the house is burning.' I'm just glad they made it out safe," resident Maria Elachiluisa said.
Elachiluisa said the fire prompted her to leave work and rush to the scene.
"Scary. I had to leave my job and just drive out trying to get there. I had to park my car five blocks away from here and then I came running," she said.
Fire Chief Jack Johnson said difficult weather conditions challenged crews during the response.
"The humidity and the weather really took a toll on the first arriving, first companies, and they were pretty much beat after the first 30 minutes so that's why we extended it to a third fourth and fifth alarm for relief purposes," Johnson said.
Johnson said the fire spread through concealed spaces, making it difficult to extinguish.
"The reason it took so long was because it was in all the walls of both buildings and then I got up into the roof area, which is extensive extra work for us to take all that apart," he said.
Six firefighters suffered minor injuries from smoke inhalation, officials said. The grandmother who escaped the building was also taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
A total of 15 residents from four families living in the two buildings were displaced.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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