2 People Rescued, Nearby Homes Evacuated After 4-Alarm Fire Breaks Out At Tire Warehouse In Pleasantville, New Jersey
PLEASANTVILLE, N.J. (CBS) - A massive fire ripped through a large building, spreading to nearby homes in Pleasantville, New Jersey overnight. The fire broke out at a tire warehouse on Pleasant Avenue just before midnight Monday and quickly grew to four-alarms.
It took fire crews several hours to put the fire out and before they could the building collapsed into itself. A smoldering pile of wood, concrete, and tires is all that remains of the tire warehouse.
"Because of the magnitude of the fire we weren't able to go inside the building," Pleasantville Fire Chief Gene Wellington said. "The building actually just collapsed into itself instead of out into the firefighters."
There are several residential buildings within feet of the fire. Residents of a nine-story senior center building were relocated and residents of neighboring rowhouses had to be evacuated.
New Jersey Transit set up a warming bus to get residents out of the cold. Meanwhile, the American Red Cross is assisting six families that were displaced.
Two people had to be rescued from their second-floor apartment. Fire crews say they were too scared to exit the back of the building. However, no one was hurt.
"The residents in this apartment building were basically trapped with the amount of fire because their main entrance to the apartment is to the rear of the structure where the fire was and my guys had to put a ladder up," Wellington said.
About 80 firefighters responded to the scene. Two of them suffered minor injuries after falling on ice but did not need medical attention.
The fire marshal will determine what caused the fire.
