By: Richard L. Smith
A late-night inferno in Newark’s South Ward left three homes destroyed, displaced nearly two dozen residents, and sent four firefighters to the University Hospital on Friday.
The blaze erupted just before midnight in the teen block of Seymour Avenue. Firefighters responded to multiple 911 calls reporting a fire at 11 Seymour Avenue, an unoccupied structure.
Upon arrival, crews found flames tearing through a single-family home and rapidly spreading to two adjacent houses.
Officials quickly escalated the response, striking a second and then a third alarm for additional manpower as the fire intensified. The flames engulfed all three structures despite their efforts, making the situation increasingly hazardous.
Firefighters briefly entered one of the homes to combat the blaze but were forced to evacuate after a partial collapse caused the chimney to come crashing down.
The four firefighters were transported to a local hospital in alert and conscious condition. Initial reports indicated that at least three firefighters suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the operation.
The fire was brought under control by approximately 2:45 a.m.
The American Red Cross initially reported that 4 families consisting of 28 residents were displaced by the destruction, which rendered all three homes uninhabitable and required them to be torn down.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation as authorities work to determine what sparked the devastating blaze.