At least six Jersey City firefighters were injured early Thursday morning in a massive blaze that also destroyed two vacant houses.
The fire, which started at around 1:30 a.m. on the 300 block of 4th Street, collapsed two three-story homes and reduced both to rubble while taking hours to control.
Witnesses reported seeing the flames from as far away as the Holland Tunnel, according to NBC New York.
“As of right now, we have six firefighters being treated at the hospital for minor injuries,” Jersey City Fire Chief Jack Johnson said earlier in the day.
They were being treated mainly for smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion, and were all expected to be OK. No civilian injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation Thursday evening, though authorities said they’d received reports that “vagrants possibly lived” in the vacant buildings, reported CBS News.
“What we’ll do is review it through our police department … and determine if there were any issues with people illegally being in the building,” Greg Kierce, the director of the Jersey City Office of Emergency Management, told the station. “It’s the property owner’s responsibility to make sure that doesn’t happen and, if that’s the case, potentially they could be cited also.”
Crews were working to tear down what was left of the structures, which were already being prepared to be demolished by the owner, Kierce said.
The Red Cross was also assisting eight people from neighboring buildings that were damaged, leading them to be displaced.
