North Bergen Apartment Fire Leaves 200 Homeless [VIDEO]

200 people left homeless following a five alarm fire that burned for several hours on Kennedy Boulevard in North Bergen on Saturday night may have to find a new place to live as the Township begins to help those displaced.

Donations of non-perishable food, clothing for children and adults, coats and toiletries for the victims can be dropped off at the North Bergen recreation center at 6300 Meadow View Ave. anytime after 9 a.m. Monday according to the Record.

North Bergen township engineers tell the Jersey Journal it could take "months" to make repairs to make an apartment building habitable again following Saturday night's 5 -alarm fire. There's also a possibility the building could be torn down. A full engineering report will be complete in a few days.

The Red Cross tells the Jersey Journal that they provided shelter for 27 families at North Bergen High School last night. The shelter closed this morning as most moved in with family and friends.

Residents of an adjoining building were allowed home today after it was determined their building was not damaged.

Firefighters were monitoring hot spots at the Poinciana apartments this morning, the building in the three-building, five-story complex of apartments where the fire broke out around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and was brought under control at 10:00 p.m.

A walk through today will determine if the building is safe for residents to return

Thick, black smoke billowed out of the roof of the building on Kennedy Boulevard at 92nd Street that could be seen from Manhattan and the New Jersey Turnpike as the fire burned. The North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue, Kearny, Secaucus, Jersey City, and Hoboken all sent crews to battle the blaze.

Smell Of Burning Wood

The fire is believed to have started in a fifth floor loft North Bergen Mayor Nicholas J. Sacco told the Star Ledger.  An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway but Sacco believes the fire was electrical and started in a fifth-floor loft.

CBS New York reports that some residents smelled burning wood before the flames were noticed.Townsquare Media's Tom Mongelli noted early on that the fifth floor of the Poinciana was fully engulfed in flames. He says the building's roofing materials included tar and wood.

PSE&G  cut power in the immediate area for safety concerns.

One firefighter suffered  broken ribs because he fell down some stairs according to WABC TV.