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.
"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 were injured in what was described as a partial building collapse.
In all, 14 families, including 11 children, were left without a place live. The American Red Cross is assisting them.
The injured firefighters were in stable condition at University Hospital.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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.