A woman was killed and her husband was seriously injured in a fire in North Jersey on New Year’s Eve, authorities said.
The victim, identified only as a 50-year-old woman, lived with her 66-year-old husband in an apartment in Passaic, according to News 12 Long Island.
The 66-year-old man was in critical condition on Wednesday at a local hospital, the Bergen Record reported.
Firefighters responded around 9:30 p.m. to the three-alarm fire at an apartment building about 10 miles west of Central Park, according to the Record. Rescuers pulled the woman through a window of the first-floor apartment and rushed her to a hospital.
First responders also pulled the man through the same window, WABC reported. Additionally, three more people suffered minor injuries in the blaze, which was doused by 10:45 p.m.
“By the time I opened the door it was black, it was scary, I basically thought I was going to die,” another resident told News 12. “I was just trying to get my mother out, not thinking of grabbing anything but my mother.”
All 59 residents of the building were evacuated, and the structure remained off limits into Wednesday afternoon, the Record reported. Officials said they were waiting to reset the building’s alarms and restore running water.
Five residents were staying at a shelter set up by the Red Cross, Passaic Mayor Hector Lora told the Record. He said that number could increase if the building remains closed.
