5 Firefighters Hurt As Jersey City Row Homes Burn

Five firefighters have been hurt and 52 residents were displaced after a massive fire destroyed or severely
damaged at least 10 row homes in Jersey City.
Dozens of firefighters battled the six-alarm blaze, which was reported around 4:20 a.m. Sunday. It then took more than three hours to bring the massive fire under control, and it continued to
burn early Sunday afternoon..

Fire officials tell The Jersey Journal that the blaze apparently started in the basement of one of the two-story homes and quickly spread through a common cockloft. But what sparked the blaze remained a mystery Sunday afternoon. "That's a common void that all of the houses share ... there's no stops," city Fire Director Armando Roman told the newspaper.

"I can't remember the last time we had something this big and this much loss ... what a devastating fire. This is the kind of fire you would expect many injuries and fatalities."

Every fire company in Jersey City responded to the blaze, along with three companies from nearby Newark. Several firefighters took to the buildings' roofs to battle the blaze, but some were nearly trapped there when the fire began to quickly spread.

The injuries suffered by the firefighters were not considered life-threatening, though all were being treated at a hospital.

Officials say most of the displaced residents were planning to stay with friends and family, but the American Red Cross of\ Northern New Jersey was helping the rest find temporary housing.

The group was also providing all residents with financial aid and other assistance.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)