A four-alarm fire tore through five Union City businesses late Wednesday night, leaving nothing but smoldering charred ruins and dashed dreams.
The businesses were located at 3611-3623 Park Ave., across the street from Weehawken.
The fire, whose first alarm was called in at 9:24 p.m., quickly escalated to four alarms, necessitating the assistance of the Jersey City Fire Department. Streets were closed off in Union City and Weehawken and electrical power to the southeastern section of Weehawken was cut. It was restored at approximately 3:30 a.m. Thursday morning.
According to Union City Police Captain Brian Barrett, who was at the scene, the responding units saw flames and smoke coming from the windows of the businesses. “It went to four alarms really fast,” said Barrett.
Barrett added that a man was arrested by Weehawken police officers. He said they saw him “praying” in front of the fire. When he was approached by the officers, he resisted them and was eventually taken to St. Mary hospital in Hoboken for observation. Officials do not think the individual had anything to do with the fire.
The businesses destroyed by the fire were Model Hardware, Golden Connection Jewelry, Lisbon Variety Store, the Bella Vista Salon, Visio Self Defense and the San Miquel Bakery. Model Hardware, according to area residents, was a fixture of the neighborhood.
“I’ve been [in Weehawken] for 22 years and Model’s was there when I got here,” said one resident.
At the scene, thick black smoke blanketed the area. Burning embers floated through the air. News helicopters floated overhead and folks shivered as they watched the water from the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue’s fire hoses quickly turn to ice on the cold pavement.
Union City Mayor Brian Stack and Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner were on the scene and used the “Paula at Rigoletto” Restaurant in Weehawken as a base of operations.
Stack was overheard ordering boxes of doughnuts and coffee from the Dunkin’ Donuts on 47th Street for the firefighters at the scene.
When questioned about the fire, a dejected and congested Stack, who is fighting a cold, just shook his head. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?” asked Stack. “This is a really bad one.”
The morning after the fire, Stack commented on the response of the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue Department.
“This was a devastating fire,” he said. “Once again, my hat goes off to the North Hudson Regional. They contained it to the structure and kept it from spreading any further.”
North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue Director Jeff Welz commented on the fire the following morning. “We believe that the fire originated in the basement of 3617 Park Avenue, which was the dollar store,” he said. “That store was in the middle of the five stores, and the flames went up the common ceiling and spread to the other businesses. This fire was enhanced by a natural gas leak. In fact, when our firefighters got to the scene and opened up a vent, they reported that they could see a blue flame shooting 15 feet into the air.”
Welz added that the fire was declared under control at 4:44 a.m. and that three firefighters sustained minor injuries. They were taken to Palisades General Hospital where they were treated and released.
As a result of the roof collapsing onto what was left of the structure, a crane was brought in to lift the roof. This will hopefully allow investigators from the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office’s Arson Investigation Squad and the Union City Police Department’s Arson Squad to get into the basement and figure out what started the blaze.
According to Stack, the main problem was gas mains that existed within the wood-framed structures. Public Service Electric & Gas had trouble turning the gas lines off, and as a result, the fire was continuously fed.
Stack also promised that Union City would do all it could to help the businesses get back on their feet and rebuild.
“We will do whatever we can to keep them in Union City,” said the mayor.