There’s a retired deputy fire chief who would often say “see you at the Big One.” In many ways, that “Big One” never really came. That is, until Sunday, May 3, 2026, when a 12-alarm fire — yes, you read that correctly, a 12-alarm fire — tore through several commercial buildings on Cortlandt Street in Belleville that ultimately spread to other properties in the area.
Belleville Mayor Michael A. Melham says the fire broke out sometime around 2:30 p.m. that day — and conditions were made significantly worse by the wind conditions (wind gusts had reached between 35-40 MPH) that plagued firefighters all day and night — and then a few issues with water pressure and availability.
The were mutual-aid firefighters from at least 20 departments from numerous counties in North Jersey and from the FDNY. Smoke could be seen for miles, including from Manhattan.
The original fire sparked at 347 Cortlandt St., a mattress warehouse. It spread to a nearby cardboard facility. Many homes in the area were evacuated as precautions, especially those directly across the street from the commercial buildings on Cortlandt Street.
It is also believed one of the properties contained an unknown amount of helium, though it is an inert and noble gas (non-combustible.)
The fire led to many power lines snapping. In areas where the lines didn’t falter, PSE&G turned power the power off to more than 700 buildings, including at Belleville Township Hall and police department headquarters.
Belleville’s 911 calls were re-routed to Nutley.
The day after the fire, the Rutgers Street Bridge that connects Belleville to Kearny and North Arlington, was closed indefinitely. A significant portion of Washington Avenue was also shut down. Residents had been advised to close windows throughout the incident.
All Belleville schools were to be closed Monday, May 4, thought it was not immediately clear when schools and streets would be reopened, as of presstime.
During the blaze, the Belleville Fire Department set up a command center in a parking lot of the former K-Mart property along Main Street. Melham spent much of the day at command and was updating residents whenever possible on his social media feeds, with text notices, photos and videos.
The mayor, who said he was very grateful for the mutual aid provided, spoke of a remarkable concept surrounding the fire — no civilian injuries of any kind were reported (one firefighter was believed to have been injured and several others were treated for smoke inhalation.)
“I have been on site for several hours and have spoken directly with our Belleville OEM team. We have officially declared a state of emergency and are establishing a command station in the K-Mart parking lot,” the mayor said at around 7 p.m. the night of the fire. “I have also been in direct contact with the governor’s office and county officials. PSEG and the Red Cross are on scene assisting. At this time, this is believed to be a 9-alarm fire, with numerous surrounding departments actively working to contain it. (It jumped to 12 alarms). At this point, we believe there are no civilian injuries. Please avoid the area so our first responders can do their jobs safely. I will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.”
By declaring a state of emergency, it will allow Melham and the Belleville Town Council to seek monetary aid from the county, state and federal governments.
Now, the day after the fire, Melham was again on scene at the fire, where wind was still evident and smoke was still visible, though the fire was contained by then. Melham spent around 10 minutes walking around the area in a video broadcast live on his Facebook channel.
“The fire is contained and no longer spreading, but several large commercial buildings remain actively involved. As winds begin to pick up again, crews remain on scene and vigilant,” the mayor said. “It is nothing short of a miracle that there was no loss of life and no civilian injuries. One firefighter sustained a minor elbow injury and was transported to Clara Maas Medical Center. Several others were treated overnight for smoke inhalation and exhaustion.
“As part of Belleville OEM, I have been on scene coordinating directly with fire, police and Essex County OEM throughout this incident. This fire ultimately reached 12 alarms and spread to three separate locations. A tanker task force from Morris County and an EMS strike team were requested to support operations and firefighter rehabilitation.
“Multiple mutual aid companies have now been demobilized and released. Belleville Fire Department continues to coordinate with mutual aid for extended operations, with master streams still actively operating on commercial buildings. Essex County OEM remains on scene assisting with refueling apparatus. PSE&G has begun re-energizing power to neighboring streets, and NJDOT continues to assist with road closures.
“… I am deeply grateful for the overwhelming support, messages and prayers from our community and beyond. Further updates will be provided if warranted.”
Meanwhile, the Rev. Ivan Scriberras, the longtime pastor of St. Peter’s Church, Belleville, and the Chaplain to the Belleville Fire Department, issued a statement early in the morning of Monday, May 4.
“…Just got home after spending a few hours with our bravest and our finest (fire on Cortlandt.) Amazing to see the support we are receiving from several fire departments,” Scriberras said. “I saw Nutley, Moonachie, Rutherford, East Rutherford, Bloomfield, Jersey City, Oradell, Verona … several blocks of houses needed to be evacuated for the residents’ safety.
“At least two collateral fires caused by flying ambers (on Stephens and Ralph) led to residents losing their homes. PSEG workers are busily disconnecting poles to avoid further devastation. Our firefighters are in good spirits. They have a great leader in Chief John Olivieri…let’s all take precautions to avoid freak accidents like this one, probably the biggest in Belleville’s history.”
Please check back at www.theobserver.com and www.theobserver.live for updates to this still-developing story.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.