A four-alarm blaze that swept through 300 Washington St. on Sunday, Feb. 19 could lead to an extended closure of Washington Street near the affected area, snarling traffic for weeks to come.
Also in the wake of the fire, the unions representing Hoboken firefighters issued a letter on Wednesday directed toward the mayor and city officials, requesting that the city hire more firefighters.
On Thursday, the Hoboken Construction Code Office issued a limited demolition permit for the property, calling for the removal of the roof, chimney, the entire fifth floor, and a section of the fourth floor at the rear of the building.
“At a minimum, this work will take at least two weeks and could be considerably longer,” according to a statement released by the city on Thursday. “The city is exploring options for opening Washington Street to limited traffic in a way that does not impact public safety.”
Washington Street between Second and Fourth streets was closed all of last week, and commuter buses were rerouted to parallel streets.
Even though the fire was brought under control by 11 p.m. Sunday, it broke out again Monday morning, and emergency crews were on the scene into Monday afternoon.
A city spokesperson said residents did not suffer any major injuries, but one individual was sent to the hospital for smoke inhalation, and two others were treated at the scene and released.
Three firefighters were sent to the hospital for a knee injury, a broken hand, and smoke inhalation.
Unions: We need more firefighters
“The initial response [to the fire] was severely limited due to the Hoboken Fire Department having two companies on a mutual aid detail in Jersey City for nearly two hours without any backfill,” according to the letter signed by Matthew Markey, president of Local 1078, and Jason Cassesa of Local 1076.
Jersey City had also suffered a fire on Sunday night before the Hoboken fire.
Markey and Cassesa categorized the situation as “unacceptable and grossly negligent.”
“Your unwillingness to heed the continuous warning of our locals and properly staff the department has finally shown its disastrous results, as evidenced by the total loss of 300 Washington,” the letter to the mayor said.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer, Public Safety Director Jon Tooke, and Fire Chief Richard Blohm issued a statement in response to the union’s letter on Wednesday afternoon.
They first thanked the “heroic firefighters for their work on Sunday evening.”
“It is unfortunate that union representatives have put out a statement attempting to exploit this situation before all the public safety issues have even been resolved,” said the statement from the administration. “It is important to remember that union leaders represent the interests of their unions, and their statement must be evaluated in that light.”
The statement from the administration said “a full complement of 20 firefighters were on duty Sunday night.” That’s one more than the recommendation of a recent department audit and one less than Blohm has stated he considers “optimal.”
“The city will be conducting a complete after-incident review and will make appropriate decisions based on the actual facts after the completion of that review,” according to the administration’s letter.
This is the second time this month that a public safety union has asked the administration for more officers.
Earlier this month, the two police unions requested at least 15 more officers.
The mayor said that public safety is a top priority in her administration, adding that she is “looking forward to announcing a new initiative to protect our residents and visitors.”
“This work will take at least two weeks and could be considerably longer.”
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Fundraiser planned
Rory Chadwick, the owner of Midtown Authentic, and Joseph Branco, the owner of the nightclub Room 84, are coordinating a fundraiser to help those who were affected by the fire.
The fundraiser is scheduled for March 2 at 7 p.m. at Room 84 (84 Washington St.)
“A donation at the door is requested and all entrants will each receive one free drink upon entry for showing their support,” according to the event’s Facebook page. “In the meantime, residents can drop off sundries, gift cards, and donations at Midtown Authentic located at 728 Washington St., 2nd Floor or at H-Mag located at 80 River St., top floor.”
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