Firefighters spend hours battling blaze that burned 3 homes, caused 2 roof collapses in Elizabeth, N.J.
ELIZABETH, N.J. -- Firefighters worked for hours on Sunday to fully extinguish a fire that impacted several homes.
CBS2 has learned the fire damaged at least three homes and caused two roof collapses. As of 10:30 p.m., Elizabeth firefighters had been hosing down the flames for about five hours.
Smoke billowed over the neighborhood as the flames engulfed a home on Jaques Street near East Grand Street. The American Red Cross said they were helping at least 28 people from the block.
Marybel Espinal lives in one of the damaged homes.
"We all broke down right now," Espinal said. "My auntie and my uncle work really hard to buy a house, which is completely burned right now. Super sad."
Espinal and other neighbors said one of the homes that burned also caught fire about a year ago. Google Maps shows what was left of it in September 2022, and images from Sunday's fire show it engulfed in flames.
Neighbors said squatters often hung out in the abandoned structure.
Thankfully, the city of Elizabeth said no injuries were reported.
"That was like hell. I mean, those flames were like, so big. I would say like 20 feet from the roof and up," witness Willy Andrad said.
The city said the cause of Sunday's fire is still under investigation.