Jersey Journal
UNION CITY, N.J. — Twelve of Hudson’s Bravest were taken to the hospital and eight other firemen were treated at the scene during a “stubborn” five-alarm blaze that took more than 31/2 hours to control, fire officials said.
The fire, which sent up plumes of black smoke that could be seen for miles, ripped through two three-story wood-frame buildings on the corner of 29th Street and Central Avenue. The blaze displaced 12 families and caused a partial roof collapse, but none of the residents were injured, officials said.
The fire began before 10 a.m., said North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue Chief Brion McEldowney, and wasn’t under control until 1:30 p.m. Around 100 firefighters from Hoboken, Kearny, Bayonne and Jersey City battled the “very tough fire” through the hot and humid weather yesterday.
“Whenever they put water on one part of the blaze, it shifted somewhere else,” Union City Mayor Brian Stack said. “They couldn’t knock it down.”
The main building had fire damage on all floors, and the neighboring building had fire damage on the third floor and water damage below, officials said. Both buildings have been condemned, with one building set for demolition last night and the other building to be taken down as soon as the owner arrived from Florida, officials said.
“Firefighters did a really tremendous job battling the fire,” McEldowney said. “They put their heart and soul into it.”
The blaze is believed to have started in a storeroom at the rear of the Guadalupana grocery store at 524 29th St. and shot up the rear wall, through three floors, and to the roof line, said Jeff Welz, co-director of the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue.
The cause and source of the blaze is still under investigation, officials said.
Although firefighters arrived within two minutes of the first alarm, smoke was pouring from the building’s eaves, Welz said. The fire was across the street from the NHRFR Hose and Ladder Co. 2, but it was the second company to arrive because its personnel were on a training exercise, Welz said.
The fire spread to the neighboring property — which shares a common wall — through the roof.
The fifth alarm was called after around 20 firefighters had to evacuate the building because of the intense heat and smoke. A dozen firefighters were taken to local hospitals for treatment for heat exhaustion, smoke inhalation and other injuries, McEldowney said. The eight other injured firefighters were treated at the scene. No other injuries were reported in the blaze, officials said.
During the worst of the fire flames leaped from the roof and smoke went across the street and high in the air.
Lennon Bottoni, a construction worker, who lived on the second floor above the store, was working at Logan Avenue in Jersey City when his landlady called him and told him about the fire.
“Oh man, I’m ... done,” said Lennon Bottoni, watching firefighters pump water through a broken window above his apartment. “All my papers and all the stuff I need is wet. Everything is garbage. There is nothing to save.”
Seven families were taken to an American Red Cross reception center at Jose Marti Middle School, on Summit Avenue and 18th Street, by 6:15 p.m., said Ricardo Perez, emergency service associate. Other families had relatives they could stay with, officials said.
Mery Maruri, who was walking away from the school with family members wrapped in a gray blanket, said, “I can’t talk right now,” as tears welled in her eyes.
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