Story and photos by Ron Jeffers
A fast-moving fire tore through units of the Rock Harborresidentialcomplex in North Bergen, New Jersey, after 5 a.m. on New Year’s Eve. The irregular shaped complex is located near the Hudson River overlooking Manhattan, and its residents were victims of flooding duringHurricane Sandy.
According to North Hudson Regional Fire Department Chief Frank Montagne, the fire may have started in a closet in Building 15. The complex has 70 residences with about 160 people, who were all evacuated.
Fire apparatus accessed the front of the complex through a narrow driveway, but there was no access to the rear except for small walkways. Firefighters had to had stretch handlines andlarge-diameter hoseto the rear of the structure, where heavy fire and smoke eventually took over. Buildings 14 and 16 were also consumed by the fire. Partial collapses occurred to these structures during the height of the fire.
A total of six alarms were transmitted sending all North Hudson fire companies to the scene, along with units from Jersey City and Hoboken.
Residents took shelter in ambulances or stood in the cold watching their homes burn. There were no serious injuries reported.
On resident said, “We went from water damage to fire damage. What could be next?”
