An explosion at a New Jersey auto body shop sparked a raging 5-alarm fire that destroyed several neighboring businesses in a “harrowing” scene Tuesday evening, according to authorities and reports.
“We had a wall collapse and apparently the entire shopping section of Maple Avenue from Conklin and Winans Avenue has been destroyed,” Hillside Mayor Dahlia Vertreese said in a video posted on her Facebook page as firefighters and first responders swarmed the area.
At least six or seven businesses, including a flower shop, grocery store, and the auto body shop, were burned in the fire sparked by the explosion around 6:30 p.m., the mayor said.
One home was severely damaged, Vetreese added.
“This is a harrowing sight,” she said.
“If you are in the area of Maple Avenue, please stay away from the lower half toward Hillside Avenue. It is very, very smoky.”
She recalled watching firefighters “going into the line of fire and coming back out for medical treatment to make sure they are OK.”
Hillside Fire Chief Rashawn Carey told Fox5 that the blaze continues to remain “very active,” as of Tuesday night.
A gas line rupture and flammable chemicals are only fueling the flames, he added.
“There are multiple modalities that are making this fire difficult to fight,” Carey told the outlet.
The fire chief told Vetreese it was the “second-worst fire in 18 years” that he had seen on the job.
Thick plumes of smoke were visible as far away as Newark Liberty International Airport as the inferno raged on, the outlet reported.
One person was transported to a hospital from the scene, though no fatalities or injuries have been reported.
Emergency operations are expected to continue into Wednesday morning.
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.
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