Officials have determined that the massive fire that consumed the Avalon housing complex in Edgewater two weeks ago was started accidentally by maintenance workers using a torch to make plumbing repairs inside an apartment. The workers allegedly tried to extinguish the blaze themselves, taking more than 15 minutes to call 911.
Ultimately the fire that began about 4:30 on Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 21 completely destroyed one building containing 240 units, permanently displacing about 500 tenants who lost their homes and all their belongings.
More than 500 additional residents were evacuated from surrounding buildings, including a second building in the Avalon complex containing 168 units. Firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to any other buildings and most residents were allowed to return to their homes over the weekend.
No one was killed in the fire and four minor injuries were reported.
Firefighters from 35 towns responded to the blaze, according to Edgewater Mayor Michael McPartland. North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue sent two engine companies and a ladder truck about 5 p.m., with about a dozen men, a safety officer, and a battalion chief.
Hudson County provided assistance in many other ways.
Immediate assistance
“Since the night of the fire we had the North Bergen Emergency Relief Program down there under Aimee Ficaraccio,” said North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco last week, “because we have experience with fires and raising money and funds to help.”
Ficaraccio and her volunteer staff set up operations at the Edgewater Community Center on River Road and coordinated relief efforts, helping to collect donations and provide food to displaced residents and emergency workers.
“We had a lot of food coming in” as donations, said Ficaraccio. “And pet food.”
In fact, contributions came flooding in from everywhere, with people showing up carrying carloads of goods or donating through organized drives, like the ones conducted by Century 21 Innovative Realty and the All Saints Episcopal Day School in Hoboken.
This place burned down to the ground a second time now. If it was built up to code, don’t we have problem with the code?” – Ewa Herbst
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Secaucus did its part to contribute, sending over two truckloads of clothing for victims of the fire.
“Aimee’s wonderful,” said Lisa Snedeker, director of Secaucus Senior and Community Services. “Anything they need, we’re there. I brought down the first load the first day. We brought coats for all the kids. And then we got all the hats and gloves and everything.”
“They don’t want any more,” said Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli. “They said they had to rent two buildings to put all the stuff in.”
Anyone still looking to contribute is advised to donate monetarily online. A list of options is available at http://edgewaterlife.com/edgewater-fire-help-those-displaced/ along with locations to bring physical donations.
Getting their lives back together
“Avalon Corporation has been very cooperative and has worked very diligently with their renters and the people that are their constituents,” said Tedesco about the corporation owning the razed building.
“The people that were displaced got their security back,” said Gonnelli. “Avalon gave them another $1,000 and they were all insured.”
“Of course the challenge is for people to find a place to live that’s permanent,” said Sacco.
Many hotels in the area provided a short-term solution by offering deeply discounted rates to persons displaced by the fire. In addition the New Jersey Apartment Association developed and posted a list of available apartments on www.njaa.com.
At least three former residents of the Avalon accepted an offer from Xchange in Secaucus to waive certain fees in consideration of their circumstances.
About 150 cars were removed from the underground parking lot beneath the burned Avalon complex a week ago Friday. Many were waterlogged but appeared to be otherwise undamaged.
“Those that have children in school are facing another issue,” said Sacco. “Can their children continue, and how do they get to school if they have to relocate? So there are a lot of issues that have to be worked out.”
People on site
Allen Burke grew up in Edgewater and attended Eleanor Van Gelder Elementary School, directly across Russell Avenue from what was then an abandoned Alcoa Aluminum plant. The plant was eventually razed so Avalon could be built.
“I don’t know who these people are, but they must have spent millions of dollars taking that building down,” he mused.
Now living in Boonton, Burke returned to his hometown to help out after the fire. He still remembered the first time the Avalon complex burned to the ground, back in 2000 when it was under construction. A contractor by trade, he questioned the safety of the Avalon’s construction, especially considering its history with fires.
The Avalon was build using a method called “lightweight construction” that allowed sections to be built on the ground out of lumber and then assembled in place. Questions have been raised for years about whether stricter construction regulations should be implemented regarding this method.
“If it was made out of concrete and cinder block, we wouldn’t have this problem,” said Edgewater Fire Chief Thomas Jacobson last week.
At the press conference on Friday, Tedesco addressed the question of the building burning down – twice – despite being built to code.
Hye-Seun Chang remembers the 2000 fire. She lived just down the street at the time and saw the devastation firsthand as it jumped the road and burned down houses along Undercliff Road.
Now living a little south of the complex, she was driven from her home last Wednesday night by the smoke, along with the lack of water and electricity when they were cut off during the fire. When she returned home on Thursday morning at 9:30, “It was all gone. I feel so sad. My friend lived in there [in the Avalon], so she lost everything. I used to go into the apartment and visit her. Thank God nobody got hurt.”
Ewa Hersbt was in her apartment about 300 yards north of the Avalon when the fire broke out.
“I heard all those sirens. There were so many that they reminded me of the fire trucks parade during Christmas.” Thinking all the commotion must some event she didn’t know about, she ignored it until the red lights in her windows aroused her curiosity.
Peeking outside, she saw the flames and knew immediately where they were coming from. She, too, had been around for the first Avalon fire, seeing people running from their homes as the fire crossed the road.
Gathering up her valuables and placing them in her car in case she needed to make a hasty exit, she watched the firefighters battle the growing blaze.
“They were trying to protect it from jumping across the street,” she said. “Those poor firemen. They were sitting in all that smoke and suddenly you would get a burst of fire almost reaching them.”
Herbst, a biomedical engineer, headed over to the community center to volunteer her services while the fire raged. When she returned, the blaze had spread.
By 2 a.m. it appeared to be under control and she went to sleep. The next morning she awoke to see a pile of smoking rubble where 240 homes used to be.
Two residents who lost their homes in the fire have reportedly filed a class action lawsuit against AvalonBay Communities, Inc. on behalf of all residents who suffered losses in the fire, alleging that the owners were negligent in construction, maintenance, and operation of the complex.
“This place burned down to the ground a second time now,” said Herbst, looking sadly at the ruins. “If it was built up to code, don’t we have problem with the code?”
Art Schwartz may be reached at arts@hudsonreporter.com.