NORTH BERGEN — A fire that was first reported by a resident at 5:25 a.m. on New Year’s Eve devastated North Bergen’s Roc Harbour development, a luxury condominium complex on River Road, destroying one building and damaging others. Firefighters from North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue responded to the scene within three to four minutes and were able to safely evacuate the complex, which contains approximately 70 units and 150 residents, preventing any fatalities or major injuries.
The North Bergen Police Department also responded immediately and assisted in the evacuation, which led to three police officers being hospitalized due to smoke inhalation.
North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco was present at the building for several hours and is coordinating the township’s response to the fire. He released the following statement:
“This is an absolute tragedy and my heart goes out to the residents of Roc Harbour, some of whom were still struggling to clean up from flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy and now have to deal with this. However, we can all be thankful that it was not worse and that the quick response time by North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue and the North Bergen Police Department helped prevent any fatalities or major injuries. My administration will be working with the Red Cross and other local and regional authorities to help the families displaced by this devastating fire put their lives back together over the coming weeks and months.”
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. The Jersey City Fire Department also responded to the scene and assisted NHRFR and several other local fire companies helped staff Regional’s firehouses while about 80 of its firefighters worked at Roc Harbour. EMTs from many surrounding towns also helped at the scene.