Jersey Journal
WEST NEW YORK — Residents of a 26-story high-rise building were smoked out of their beds and their homes yesterday morning when a trash compactor caught fire, officials said.
There were no injuries reported in the two-alarm blaze that started at 6 a.m. in the ground floor compactor room of Overlook Terrace, at 5601 Boulevard East, officials said.
Residents poured out of the building after the fire funneled up through the compactor shaft to the first floor, creating smoke on several floors, said Chief Brion McEldowney of North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue.
“There was heavy smoke on many floors of the building, causing confusion and danger for tenants,” McEldowney said.
Some 35 to 40 firefighters fought the fire for about an hour before it was declared under control, he said.
While many tenants left the building, McEldowney said NHRFR doesn’t normally evacuate high-rises during fires because the thick smoke can create a greater hazard for residents fleeing.
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