A massive blaze ripped through multiple New Jersey buildings Friday night, injuring six firefighters and leaving dozens of residents displaced, according to reports.
The flames erupted around 10:30 p.m. inside a commercial building on Jefferson Street in Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood before rapidly spreading to four neighboring structures, including at least three multifamily homes, CBS New York and PIX11 reported.
Horrific footage showed raging flames blasting through windows as smoke alarms blared across the devastated block while more than 100 firefighters rushed in and fought for hours to contain the inferno.
“I started seeing smoke coming out of the building,” witness Jose Marte told PIX11.
“As soon as I went over there, there were families and dogs coming out. There were a lot of kids.”
One resident said she had just seconds to grab her two daughters before fleeing, while another described the flames exploding through the building, shattering windows and engulfing floors within minutes.
The fire, which was reportedly placed under control before 3:30 a.m., left six firefighters hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.
About 60 terrified residents escaped unharmed but are now figuring out their next steps.
“There’s barely anything inside. The roof is collapsed, everything,” resident Jackie Calva, who has lived in one of the damaged buildings with her family for over 10 years, told CBS.
“I really hope that it’s salvable, it’s fixable, and hopefully we’ll go back eventually. You don’t ever think it’s you until it actually happens to you.”
Displaced residents returned to their gutted homes Saturday morning, cleaning up debris from the blaze and saving what little they could recover in plastic bags along the sidewalk, PIX11 reported.
The American Red Cross has reportedly assisted at least 15 families with temporary lodging, clothing, food and other immediate needs.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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