Three-Alarm Blaze Sends Two NJ Firefighters to Hospital

Two Paterson firefighters were taken to the hospital after battling a three-alarm blaze in the city Friday, authorities said.

Shortly before 9 a.m., firefighters arrived at an abandoned house on Fair Street to find the second and third floors engulfed in flames, said Deputy Fire Chief Frank Calamita. Soon, the fire consumed the entire building and radiant heat began to melt the siding on two neighboring buildings, he said.

Although the building where the fire started was supposed to be vacant, the fire department had received a report that squatters had been living inside and had evacuated when the fire broke out, said Calamita. No injuries to residents were reported, but firefighters were still dousing pockets of fire at the building Friday afternoon, he said.

Two firefighters suffered non-life threatening injuries and both were taken to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, he said. One firefighter was released as of Friday afternoon.

The fire itself was largely under control by Friday afternoon, but firefighters were still on site, said Calamita. Once the fire was deemed under control, the fire department would set about demolishing the building.

Although there were no reports of residents inside, the fire had made the building’s structure too dangerous for firefighters to search for anyone, said Calamita. The cause and origin of the fire is still under investigation, he said.

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