Jersey City fire destroys 2 homes, 6 firefighters hurt as flames erupt overnight, officials say
A massive fire at two vacant homes overnight in Jersey City, New Jersey, left several firefighters injured and neighbors homeless, officials said.
Hot spots were still burning Thursday morning, hours after the three-alarm blaze erupted and sent six firefighters to the hospital, according to officials.
Fire engulfs vacant homes in Jersey City
Video shows flames and smoke billowing from the tops of the two three-story homes on Fourth and Monmouth streets. They were reduced to piles of rubble.
The fire, which started at around 1:30 a.m., was so intense that drivers exiting the Lincoln Tunnel miles away could see the flames when crews first arrived, Jersey City's fire chief said.
"As of right now, we have six firefighters being treated at the hospital for minor injuries. The fire is under investigation. We're not sure of the cause. We do have reports from civilians that some vagrants possibly lived in the building, because they were vacant buildings," Chief Jack Johnson said.
Displaced resident Brian Blazak said squatters were living in the vacant buildings and other residents complained about them to the city.
"Seemed like they were getting in through the back off the alley. They had maybe boarded up the front a little bit, but I think after a while they were just rip it open and get in through the front or the back," Blazak said.
The Jersey City Office of Emergency Management confirmed to CBS News New York that the owner of the property was in the process of having the homes demolished in the coming days.
"We're looking into that also. What we'll do is review it through our police department ... and determine if there were any issues with people illegally being in the building," Greg Kierce, Jersey City's emergency management director, said. "It's the property owner's responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen and, if that's the case, potentially they could be cited also."
A Jersey City spokesperson says back in April the fire department responded to an activated alarm and found the building to be improperly secured and unsafely accessible, adding violations were sent, but the property owner never responded or showed up in court.
Sam Fogel said he bought the buildings that went up in flames three months ago and didn't know of any trespassers or any violations.
"The property was boarded up front and the back and all the windows were boarded ... couple of times. We had to check on it," Fogel said.
Fogel suggested the city is also responsible.
The process to get things done takes a long time .... If you are going to have a property [ in the] city there for a long time ...eventually people are going to break in," Fogel said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Officials said crews will now begin the process of tearing down what's left of the homes.
Firefighters treated for smoke inhalation
A Jersey City firefighters union official said the hospitalized firefighters faced challenging conditions and were being treated for minor injuries, mainly smoke inhalation.
It took hours to get the fire under control.
"Especially in times like this, in the summer, heat exhaustion, smoke inhalation. The conditions, we had fire in both sides of the exposures. My men and women face a lot out there and we're just here to make sure they're OK," said John Collins, president of the Jersey City Firefighters Union Local 1066.
The Red Cross was assisting eight people who live in neighboring buildings and are displaced because of the fire, the fire chief said.
There was no immediate word on injuries to people who may have been inside when the fire started.
