Fast-moving Jersey City fire leaves four families displaced after grandmother and children escape

A fast-moving fire tore through two buildings on Stegman Street in Jersey City, leaving four families with nowhere to go. Fire officials say it started in a basement garage around 5:30 tonight, shooting up three floors and then through the roof. Inside one of the two burning buildings were a 12-year-old boy, his one-year-old sister and their grandmother, who all made it out safe after the boy grabbed his sister and grandmother and called his mother. About 80 firefighters, with help from Bayonne, needed 90 minutes to get the blaze under control as it went to a fifth alarm, because the fire was in all the walls of both buildings and reached the cockloft in the roof. Six firefighters suffered minor injuries from smoke inhalation, and the grandmother who escaped was also taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Fifteen residents lived in the two buildings, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

A chaotic scene played out in Jersey City tonight as flames ripped through two buildings, leaving more than a dozen people with nowhere to go.

The fire moved quickly through the structures. It started in a basement garage, shooting up three floors and then through the roof, on Stegman Street.

There were people inside as it spread. Inside one of the two burning buildings were a 12-year-old boy, his one-year-old sister and their grandmother.

The children and their grandmother made it out. The boy called his mother as he grabbed his sister and grandmother, and the family got out safe.

The response was a large one. Fire officials say it started around 5:30 tonight, with all hands on deck for the Jersey City Fire Department, about 80 firefighters with some help from Bayonne, and it took them 90 minutes to get the fire under control after it went to a fifth alarm.

Crews explained why it took so long. The fire was in all the walls in both buildings and then got up to the cockloft in the roof area, which meant extensive extra work to take it all apart.

A number of people were hurt and displaced. Six firefighters suffered minor injuries from smoke inhalation, the grandmother who escaped was rushed to the hospital with minor injuries, fifteen residents were living in the two buildings, four families have been displaced, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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