Dozens Displaced in Union City Fire

Officials are trying to determine what sparked a fire that tore through five apartment buildings and left dozens homeless in northern New Jersey Thursday.

One person who lived in a basement apartment is unaccounted for.

The 8-alarm blaze started in the basement of a building on Bergenline Avenue in Union City around 9:25 p.m. Wednesday. Flames spread as firefighters faced temperatures below freezing.

Deputy Chief Mike Cranwell of North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue says the fire was brought under control at about 6 a.m. Thursday.

Cranwell says about a dozen firefighters suffered minor injuries including smoke inhalation. The most serious injury was a broken hand.

Cranwell says dozens of people displaced by the fire remain at a nearby school.