An early morning blaze erupted at a senior housing facility in New Jersey on Tuesday, tragically claiming the life of a female resident, while sending three others to the hospital and injuring eight police officers.
Bayonne Fire Chief Keith Weaver detailed the incident, explaining that firefighters were dispatched to the 11-story high-rise at 7:22 a.m. when a fire broke out on the third floor, requiring a two-alarm response.
“Firefighters employed two handlines to bring the fire under control by 8:17 a.m.,” Weaver wrote on Facebook. “The escalation to two alarms was necessary to manage both the firefighting efforts and the evacuation of building occupants.”
Officials confirmed that the individual from the apartment where the fire began succumbed to injuries at a nearby hospital. Additionally, three residents from the Post Road Gardens and eight police officers received treatment for smoke inhalation. Four other residents were treated at the scene and did not require hospitalization.
Images shared by the Bayonne Office of Emergency Management on Facebook show police officers receiving medical attention from firefighters outside the apartment building. Residents of Bayonne were urged to “avoid the area” as emergency teams responded to the scene.
The investigation into the cause of the fire is currently being conducted by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, Bayonne Police, and the City of Bayonne Fire Department.
The names and ages of the victims was not reported.
