Guttenberg police said last week that they believe a four-alarm fire that destroyed businesses and apartments on Bergenline Avenue was accidental. A candle left burning in the beauty salon probably started the fire, they said.
The fire in Guttenberg early Monday morning destroyed two attached buildings and businesses, and forced a resident to dangle her infant daughter out of a second floor window in the hope of being rescued from the blaze.
According to North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue Co-Director Jeff Welz, the fire featured a daring ladder rescue Welz called “dramatic.”
“We got a call that someone saw smoke at 6807 Bergenline Avenue at 2:20 a.m. Monday,” Welz said. “Someone called the fire in that it started in the first floor in a beauty salon.”
NHRFR dispatcher Rudy Zerquera was working Monday night when he received the call. When he heard the address, he knew his mother and sister’s offices, located at 6809 Bergenline Ave., were in certain danger.
“As soon as they gave the address, I knew the building would go,” Zerquera said. “I knew early on.”
After NHRFR firefighters arrived at the scene, they noticed a woman who was trapped in the second floor apartment of the three-story structure at 6807 Bergenline Ave., holding her infant daughter out of the window in the hope of being rescued.
“The heat and smoke was too much for her and her husband to go down the stairs and there was no fire escape, so she stood at the window, waiting for help,” Welz said. “She wanted to make sure that the baby was out of the range of the smoke. It was a desperate mother trying to protect her baby.”
NHRFR Ladder 4, headed by Captain Bob D’Antonio and firefighters Brian Stahl and Mike Crossan, used an aerial ladder to carry the baby to safety, and returned to bring the mother and her husband, who were not identified, down the ladder away from the burning building.
All three people were taken to Palisades General Hospital and were later released.
Because the fire apparently went undetected for several hours before there was an appearance of smoke, the internal portion of the wood-framed buildings received heavy fire damage, even before the fire began to be extinguished.
“There are no fire stops in an old building like that, buildings that support each other and share a common wall,” Welz said. “Once it gets burning, it’s like a lumber yard.”
The fire took 70 men to help extinguish it after four hours and the NHRFR needed assistance from Jersey City, Bayonne, Harrison and Kearny to help either fight the blaze or serve as a backup in case another fire broke out in the region’s area during that time.
“It’s remarkable that they were able to keep the fire within those two buildings,” Welz said.
The two buildings sustained extensive damage and had to be completely razed by demolition crews Tuesday and Wednesday. Bergenline Avenue was blocked off and traffic was re-routed by Guttenberg police in order that the demolition could be completed as soon as possible.
Included in the demolition were the law offices of Nadya M. Zerquera and the real estate offices of her mother, Nadya R. Zerquera.
“Everything was lost,” Rudy Zerquera said, “but they’re doing fine. They tried to salvage some things, but there wasn’t much left. I knew that their businesses were going to go, but I didn’t want to call them in the middle of the night to upset them. My father had just gotten out of the hospital. I didn’t think they needed to get more upset.”
It has yet to be determined how many residents were displaced by the fire. Each building is believed to have at least four apartments each.
The two businesses at 6807 Bergenline Ave., the beauty salon and a lingerie shop, were also destroyed.
Four firefighters sustained minor injuries battling the blaze. They were examined at Palisades General Hospital, treated and released, according to Welz.
“Considering the buildings were attached and were wood-framed, it’s amazing this didn’t cause more damage,” Welz said.
Incredibly, the fire did not spread to 6805 Bergenline Ave., which is where the medical offices of Dr. Nicholas Cicco are located. Cicco, a chiropractor, is the former mayor of Guttenberg.
Rudy Zerquera was thankful no one was seriously injured. “Everyone got out safe,” Zerquera said. “The only loss was material things and my mother and sister are already receiving help from the public adjusters. The firemen were great and were extra cautious that no one got hurt. It’s why we have insurance. We’ll all recover.”