BAYONNE – Two firefighters were injured, and 45 residents were displaced in a five-alarm fire that enveloped three buildings on Avenue C between 19th and 20th Street early Saturday morning, according to fire officials. Upon arrival at 1:13 a.m., fire companies found heavy fire in the rear of the building, which quickly spread vertically up into the cock loft (the space between the roof and the ceiling of the top floor). A fire investigator determined that the fire started in the rear exterior of the building in an area where trash was stored.
Bayonne Fire Chief Keith Weaver said fires in cock lofts are difficult to extinguish due to their inaccessibility. Firefighters must cut holes in the roof from the outside and expose the fire by manually pulling ceilings from inside the building so that hose streams can reach the flames. The fire took four hours to battle; it was pronounced under control at 5 a.m., according to officials.
A fire captain and a firefighter suffered non-life-threatening injuries when a portion of the roof fell on them. Both were transported to Jersey City Medical Center.
Fourteen families, consisting of 45 people, lost their homes. The Bayonne Office of Emergency Management and the Red Cross are sheltering the displaced in the Bayonne High School Ice Rink. To support those affected by disasters, visit redcross.org.
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