BAYONNE – Dozens of Bayonne firefighters fought a four-alarm midday fire on West 34th Street on Monday, Feb. 16, just doors away from the landmark Judicke’s bakery.
The fire, believed to have begun at about 12:30 p.m., involved houses at 12 and 14 West 34th St. and the alleyway between the two structures.
All of the residents home at the time were evacuated, according to those on the block.
There were no reported injuries to residents, Fire Chief Gregory Rogers said at the scene. One firefighter was seen limping away from the fire and was offered a stretcher by paramedics.
The fire displaced at least a dozen people, including 10 members of the Mulcahy family at 12 West 34th St, according to Michael Mulcahy, a city code enforcement official whose parents own the house and have lived there for 54 years. Mulcahy’s brother, Paul, his wife, and six children live in the three-family house’s second and third floors. Eneas Mulcahy, 70, and his wife, Denise, live on the first floor.
Windows were broken at both houses during the firefighting efforts.
Both the Broadway and Avenue C entrances to the street were blocked off by emergency vehicles. In addition, police and fire vehicles lined Broadway for about three blocks.
Bayonne firefighters received mutual aid responses from the Jersey City, Kearny, Newark and North Hudson fire departments.
Both buildings suffered extensive fire, smoke, and water damage, Rogers said. The origin and cause of the fire were both still undetermined. An investigation into the cause would begin immediately, as a fire investigator was on his way to the scene.
At 2:40 p.m., Rogers said the fire was not yet under control, but that the “main body of fire was gone.” By about 3:40 p.m., the roof of 12 West 34th was reported to have collapsed.
Michael Mulcahy, who grew up there with his four siblings, was positive about how the city was already reacting to his family’s plight.
“Everyone has their arms open and their houses open for us,” he said.
The fire had begun low in one of the buildings, raced through the walls, and up into the attics of both houses, according to Rogers. Firefighters were able to contain the blaze to the two structures, and 16 West 34th Street, as well as Judicke’s, at the corner of Broadway and 34th, were not affected.
Mayor James Davis and Public Safety Director Robert Kubert responded to the fire. – Joseph Passantino