Recent Residential Jersey City Fire

A four alarm residential fire was intensified by the near 100 degree temperature in Jersey City on Friday, July 20th, causing 50 firefighters and four Emergency Medical Technicians to seek treatment for heat exhaustion or smoke inhalation and sent 28 firefighters to the hospital. The fast moving fire tore through a two-family home and spread to adjacent homes on both sides causing major structural damage. Thankfully, no residents were hurt but the fire, which appears to have started in an illegal basement apartment, has left six families displaced. The day’s scorching temperatures and the intense heat from the blaze resulted in the most firefighter injuries we have seen in New Jersey for years and highlighted their truly perilous situation.   

For the families who lived in the affected homes the property lost in this blaze and the time it will take for them to recoup makes this a sad reminder of how vulnerable homes, residents and first responders truly are to the ravages of fire.  Bill A1570 passed in the New Jersey Assembly in January, and the recently introduced Senate bill S2273, would make it mandatory for all newly constructed one and two-family homes as well as condominiums and townhomes to be equipped with fire sprinklers.  This legislation would help to reduce the devastating effects of fires like this one and help protect New Jersey residents by mitigating the risk to individuals affected by the blaze including both occupants of the home and the firefighters who brave the heat at great personal risk.

I urge you to check the batteries in your smoke alarms and learn how to protect yourself, your loved ones and your community from the ravages of fire. Our thoughts and prayers are with the firefighters and residents who were affected by this tragedy.

Best Regards,

David Kurasz, Executive Director

New Jersey Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board