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Story and photos by Ron Jeffers
Two Bayonne (NJ) firefighters were injured and rushed to the hospital after a portion of an upper wall, at the cockloft area, suddenly fell to the ground. The debris struck them while they were operating in the rear of a rapidly spreading fire in a mixed occupancy building at Avenue C and West 20th Street, on June 18, 2016.
After the alarm was transmitted at 1:13 a.m., arriving units found flames rising in the rear of the Bayonne Giant Laundromat on West 20th Street. The business fronts on Avenue C. Flames were extending up the rear wall between an attached two-story wood-frame and three-story wood-frame mixed occupancy structure, with a small one-story extension behind the two-story building.
Chief of Department Keith Weaver told the media that it is believed the fire started in a trash area in back of the laundromat and spread up walls to the top-floor and cockloft area. The quick-moving flames affected structures using the addresses of 455, 457 and 459 Avenue C.
Firefighters began a suppression attack as well as removing occupants from the apartments above the business. They “opened up” walls and ceilings and aerial units were ordered to access the roof area. A second alarm was transmitted by Battalion Chief Steve Peterson. As the intensity of the fire grew, a third alarm was ordered, bringing two engines, a truck, and battalion chief from Jersey City to the scene. Later, the same amount of companies re-locating into the city from the North Hudson Regional F.D. were re-directed to the fire as the fourth alarm. These companies all went to work, which included water supply and entering the Avenue C side address fronts to open up walls and ceilings to cut off the fire’s spread.
“You need a lot of manpower,” Chief Weaver said, for an “intense operation.”
As flames rose above the roof, Ladder 3 used its ladder pipe at the intersection of Avenue C and 20th Street. Tower 1 set up on Avenue C, with Tower 5 on West 20th Street. Jersey City Ladder 11’s aerial ladder was used on Avenue C for egress. Later, a fifth-alarm was struck, plus special calls for additional units. Fire companies from Hoboken and Kearny reported to the scene. Off-duty city firefighters reported to the scene with spare apparatus.
While operating in the rear, a portion of an upper wall section suddenly fell to the ground, striking two city firefighters. Fellow members and EMT’s rushed to their aid to remove them from the debris. They were taken to ambulances and rushed to the Jersey City Medical Center for treatment. On this busy Friday night-Saturday morning, the emergency room also busy treating three teenagers with gunshot wounds.
The firefighters were treated for nonlife-threatening injuries. One member suffered a bruised chest, plus back and leg injuries. He was later released from the hospital. The other firefighter’s injuries included a broken ankle and knee, plus rib, spine, elbow, and facial injuries, officials said. He was listed in stable condition.
The fire left 45 people, from 14 families, homeless. The displaced were taken to the Bayonne High School ice rink facility for shelter.
The multiple-alarm fire was placed under control at 5 a.m. with mutual aid units being released around 5:30 a.m.
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