Report: Workers who sparked fire never called 911

EDGEWATER (AP) — Documents show maintenance workers who sparked a fire that destroyed an apartment complex in North Jersey, leaving 500 residents homeless, never call 911 for help.

NJ.com reports a review of dispatch logs and 911 tapes revealed no record of any employee alerting authorities as the Avalon Bay blaze, started when two workers tried to fix a leaky pipe, grew into an inferno on Jan. 21 in Edgewater.

Firefighters were first notified by the building's automated fire alert system.

Avalon senior vice president of brand strategy Kurt Conway tells NJ.com it would be inappropriate to provide details while authorities and the company continue to investigate.

Residents have filed three lawsuits.

The inferno destroyed about 500 people's apartments and about 500 more were displaced from an adjacent complex.

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