Paterson firefighters with mutual assistance from several municipalities battled a multi-alarm fire that tore through a commercial establishment in the downtown business district.
According to preliminary reports from Paterson fire officials, the fire started at about 11 p.m. in the basement of a store at 268 Main Street.
Firefighters arrived at the scene and attempted to reach the fire but were driven back by heavy flames and thick smoke as fire conditions continued to deteriorate.
Fire officials said, crews used several streams from hoses in an attempt to extinguish the flames, but fire persisted in voids of the building and continued to burn ultimately causing the building to collapse.
A neighboring building suffered massive damage, and EMS transported one firefighter to the hospital suffering non-fatal injuries as the fire continued to burn for several hours.
A search of the structure had no trapped or injured victim according to officials.
Firefighters from Passaic, Haledon, Prospect Park, Hawthorne, and Totowa assisted at the scene, and others covered the empty firehouses.
The cause has not been determined.