Five New Jersey Firefighters Injured Battling 6-Alarmer

April 9, 2012
Jersey City officials said it was one of the biggest fires the city has seen in decades.

Five Jersey City firefighters were hospitalized Sunday morning after one of the biggest fires the city has seen in decades.

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The six-alarm blaze torched ten row homes on Clearemont Avenue around 4:23 a.m., displacing 52 people, according to The Jersey Journal.

The fire originated at 349 Clearmont Ave. and then spread to spread to nine other homes on the south side of the street after the fire traveled through a common cockloft.

"I can’t remember the last time we had something this big and this much loss ... what a devastating fire," Fire Director Armando Roman told the newspaper. "This is the kind of fire (where) you would expect many injuries and fatalities."

The five firefighters who were injured all suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Battalion Chief Joseph Zieja was overcome by smoke, Firefighter Michael Quiles suffered an eye injury, Firefighter Shawn Farrell fell down stairs, Capt. Vincent Rivera injured his elbow and Capt. John Mattern suffered a burn to his left arm.

All five were released from Jersey City Medical Center by yesterday afternoon.

The blaze was declared under control by 7:29 a.m.

Officials say they believe the fire started when an extension cord in the basement of the home where the fire originated sparked and started the fire.

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