Jersey City fire deemed suspicious; 37 residents displaced

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) -- Authorities say a fire that displaced 37 residents of a Jersey City apartment building and injured a firefighter has been deemed suspicious.

NJ.com reports the fire started around 4 a.m. Tuesday in a one-story vacant building on Mercer Street. It produced heavy black smoke that soon entered the neighboring apartment building, which was evacuated.

Jersey City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill says the displaced residents, who included 18 children, lived in the apartment building. Many of them were receiving assistance from the American Red Cross.

Morrill says the fire was contained within in an hour.

A firefighter was treated at a hospital for a shoulder injury suffered at the scene.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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