Jersey Journal
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NORTH BERGEN, N.J. — Firefighters were able to extinguish a three-alarm fire and prevent it from spreading to the neighboring property, despite a battalion chief’s car crash en route to the scene.
The fire department sounded a third alarm after arriving at 84th Street and Durham Avenue because they were concerned that winds would engulf the neighboring property, said Chief Brion McEldowney, of the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue.
Some 60 firefighters and officers fought the blaze that started at 11:04 a.m. yesterday and was under control an hour later, officials said.
The fire appeared to have started on the second floor, spreading rapidly to the top level, but the exact location and cause is still under investigation, the chief said. The occupants were able to escape, and there were no injuries at the fire.
A battalion chief crashed into another car at 60th Street and Palisade Avenue as he was responding to the fire, McEldowney said. The driver of the other car was issued a ticket for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle, he said.
The officer was not injured but the driver of the other vehicle was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries, the chief said.