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Photos and report by Ron Jeffers
Fire and low-banking smoke covered the intersection of Devon Street and Midland Avenue in Kearny, New Jersey, on the evening of February 4, 2019. Flames raced up the walls of an occupied three-story, wood-frame, corner dwelling, leaving six families homeless.
The first alarm was transmitted shortly after 9 p.m. and there was smoke in the street as the first fire companies arrived from the Midland Avenue firehouse, located a block away. There was a fire in the basement, and firefighters began knocking it down; however, flames were already racing up the walls and eventually to the top-floor and cockloft area.
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“We had a difficult time,” Deputy Chief Robert Osborn said. It was a labor-intensive operation, pulling walls and ceilings to hit the fire. Three alarms were transmitted, bringing in mutual aid fire companies to the scene.
As the fire intensified, and flames vented out of top-floor windows, an evacuation order was sounded. Master streams were set up on this corner, which included Engine 4’s deck gun and ladder pipes from Harrison Ladder 1 and North Arlington Ladder 3, plus Kearny Tower 2’s stream. This caused low-banking, blinding smoke to cover the neighborhood.
Additional fire companies that operated at the fire scene included Belleville Engine 2 and Jersey City Engines 9, 17, Ladder 11, Battalion 4, and the Field Training Officer.
The fire was called under control shortly before midnight, and some mutual aid companies began to be released around 1 a.m. The residents all self-evacuated and there were no report of injuries. The Jersey City Gong Club set up opposite the fire building to offer rehab services.
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