Fire at abandoned home spreads, displaces 14 families in New Jersey
NEWARK, N.J. -- A fire at an abandoned home spread to neighboring houses overnight and displaced over a dozen families in New Jersey.
The fire in Newark started just before midnight Saturday. Within five minutes, it spread to two neighboring homes on Seymour Avenue, the city's public safety director said.
14 families evacuated, 4 firefighters hurt
Residents of the neighboring homes were forced to evacuate as firefighters tried to fight the flames.
"It's like, it's no way this is happening, then we see it's expanding," neighbor Nfaly Kaba said. "We ran out, and I made the call to 911."
"We were running barefoot. Our neighbors gave us these shoes and this sweater," neighbor Fanta Kaba said.
"I seen large sparks of light by the window. So I went to go check the window and I see that it was flames coming from the next house. I was so scared and such in a panic mode, I was running to just grab my clothes to put on to run outside. When I ran outside, I seen that the whole side of the house was on fire and literally I lost everything," a neighbor said.
It took firefighters almost three hours to get the fire under control. Four firefighters were injured when sources say a chimney in one of the buildings collapsed. Two are still in the hospital in stable condition.
"Right now, we're just happy that by the actions of the Newark Fire Department, we didn't lose any life in this structure or in this vicinity," Newark Fire Chief Del Ortiz said.
In all, 14 families, including 11 children, were left without a place live. The American Red Cross is assisting them.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Neighbors say the home has been boarded up for years, and they often see squatters inside.
"There's a group of homeless people, about two or three of them living there," Newark resident Mark Fraser said.
Fire officials say all three of the homes will be demolished due to the severity of the damage.
Elevated fire risk across region
The entire Tri-State Area is under a Red Flag Warning as dry, breezy conditions create an elevated fire risk.
The Jennings Creek wildfire, which has been burning near the New York-New Jersey border for over a week, is nearly 90% contained, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said on Friday.