Firefighters battle 2 massive fires in New York miles apart leaving dozens of families homeless
NORTH HUDSON, NEWYORK: Two huge fires that broke out in North Hudson on the night of Thursday, November 1 have left more than a dozen firefighters injured and dozens of people displaced. Around 5.pm on November 1, The Orient and Borinquen Bodega, two buildings on Madison Street in West New York, were fully engulfed in flames. North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue and other fire departments were dealing with a four-alarm fire in West New York while fighting a five-alarm fire at a Salvation Army in Union City.
North Hudson Fire Chief David Donnarumma told NJ.com that both fires were brought under control on Friday morning. “The building (in West New York) has been compromised, there were floor collapses as well as roof collapses,” Donnaruma said Friday morning. “With this building, there were a lot of occupants that were fleeing. We assisted with evacuations, we did primary searches, we assisted people off the fire escape and we were able to rescue all these people due to regionalization. Our department regionalized about 23 years ago and it just brings a lot more resources to the initial alarm.”
READ MORE
Nicholas Perri: Off-duty firefighter who saved woman from burning car says his 'instinct kicked in'
According to the North Hudson fire chief, eight of the 13 wounded firemen were released from the hospital this morning. Donnarumma continued, "The firemen had suffered wounds, shoulder strains, smoke inhalation, and exhaustion." He added, “Simultaneous with this four-alarm fire, we had a five-alarm fire at 908 Kennedy Blvd.,” Donnarumma said. “That fire was also put under control, it was contained to the building of origin.”
The Fire further said, two families were also displaced at the Union City fire due to the proximity to the building while the West New York spokesman Nick Bond said the 41 families were displaced by the fire and moved to School 3/Robert Menedez Elementary School before being transported to a hotel. He said Mayor Gabriel Rodriguez has provided accommodations for more than 20 families.
Donnarumma said 100 people have been displaced in total, The town of West New York is providing temporary lodging and Red Cross is providing financial support,” Bond said. “We are extremely grateful for the outpouring of support from our community, local and county officials, and Congressman Albio Sires.” Donnarumma stated that both the fires in Union City and West New York are still being investigated, despite the fact that it is still unclear how and where they began.