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| |Photo By Bill Tompkins |
Shortly after 0130 HRS on Dec. 13, 2005, a Hackensack, N.J., resident called 911 to report the smell of smoke in her house. After making the call from her second-floor bedroom, she found herself trapped by the spreading flames on the first floor. After breaking a bedroom window, the woman climbed onto a porch and jumped. A neighbor helped break her fall.
The Hackensack Fire Department arrived soon thereafter, and Acting Tour Commander Steve Kallman transmitted a third alarm because of the volume of fire and close spacing of the exposure buildings. Firefighters commenced an interior attack, but after the fire took hold of the second floor and vented out the front windows, all firefighters were evacuated and a defensive attack was started. Firefighters put Ladder 1’s ladder pipe into operation along with numerous handlines. Ladder 2, manned by recall personnel, was also put to work. The Teaneck and Bogota fire departments provided mutual aid at the scene. About 50 firefighters fought the flames for two hours before the job was placed under control. No serious injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.