Blaze displaces family of 9

Photo by Karen Zautyk
Photo by Karen Zautyk

 

KEARNY –

An early morning fire in an Elm St. home last Friday left the residence uninhabitable, displacing nine members of one family, but all escaped without injury, Kearny fire officials reported.

Fire Chief Steve Dyl said the blaze broke out around 3 a.m in the single-family, twostory, wood-frame house at 182 Elm, just south of Garfield Ave.

The blaze was declared under control at 3:57 a.m., but some firefighters were still on the scene Friday afternoon, and Elm St. remained closed to traffic between Garfield and Bergen Aves.

All Kearny units responded to the alarm, with assistance from the Harrison and Jersey City Fire Departments. They were under the direction of incident commander KFD Deputy Chief Frank Viscuso. East Newark and North Arlington provided back-up coverage to the town.

Dyl said five adults and four children were safely evacuated from the residence and were relocated with help from the Red Cross. None of the firefighters suffered injuries.

Dyl said the crews were able to rescue one dog, “but we lost another.”

The cause of the fire, which apparently started on the second floor, was undetermined and is under investigation by KFD Provisional Chief Inspector John Donovan, but it was not deemed suspicious.

–Karen Zautyk

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