Bayonne fire injures one in jump, one from smoke, and kills pet

BAYONNE — A raging blaze in the early hours of Sunday, July 20, caused an Avenue E woman to be injured when she jumped from a second floor window of her residence, fire officials said.
Bayonne fire fighters responded to the report of a building fire at 596 Ave. E at about 3:30 a.m., according to Fire Chief Gregory Rogers.
“Arriving firefighters were confronted with heavy smoke and fire pushing from multiple windows on the second floor of the two-story frame building,” Rogers said in a written statement. Flames were already extending to the neighboring three-story structure at 594 Ave. E, occupied by Bayonne Public Safety Director Robert Kubert.
The battalion chief onsite reported that a woman, believed to be in her 20s, had jumped from a second floor window before the Fire Department arrived, according to Rogers.
“She was transported to the Jersey City Medical Center with a badly injured leg, along with a male occupant from the same apartment for smoke inhalation,” he said.
Kubert, residing in the neighboring building that was exposed to and damaged by the fire, said that he witnessed smoke and fire coming from 596, and entered the building to warn the occupants that the building was burning, Rogers said. He also attempted to reach the woman on the second floor, but was forced back by the fire.
Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze in the two-story, 596 Ave. E structure, but worked for a longer period controlling the flames in the attic at 594, “due to the tight conditions and fire extension into multiple voids,” according to Rogers.
The original fire building (596 Ave. E) suffered heavy fire damage to the second floor, and 594 had heavy fire damage to both the roof and attic. Both buildings were damaged by heavy smoke and water. The fire was declared under control at 4:39 a.m.
Four occupants were displaced from 596 Ave. E, and an additional four from 594 Ave. E.
“All sought shelter with family and friends,” Rogers said. “One dog perished in the fire, and was found in the kitchen on the second floor of 596.”
It was determined that the fire originated in the second floor kitchen of 596.
The fire’s cause is still under investigation.