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No injuries reported but many displaced by four-alarm fire in Elizabeth
An early morning fire that destroyed a home in Elizabeth today left 12 to 15 people looking for living quarters, but caused no reported injuries, a city deputy fire chief said.
The blaze destroyed a 2½-story wood-frame house on Rebecca Place and damaged the roofs and top stories of homes on either side. The neighboring houses, while not currently habitable, could likely be rebuilt, said Deputy Chief Donald Peterson as he surveyed the scene about 9 a.m. today.
Investigators were trying determine the cause of the blaze, which might have started in the home’s vacant first floor, Peterson said. Residents of the second floor were awakened and escaped unharmed, he said.
The fire, called in at 5:16 a.m., grew to four alarms within an hour as crews initially contended with lack of water from nearby hydrants, he said.
"We had every company from Elizabeth here," Peterson said. Crews from several municipalities, including Union, Linden, Newark, Rahway and Roselle, assisted mutual aid and cover. The fire was under control at 6:51 a.m., he said.
Firefighters were still on scene at 9 a.m. and one was on an extended ladder clipping debris from the house’s blackened shell.
Tags: morning destroyed homes started damaged rebuilt vacant