LINDEN, N.J. — A two-alarm fire tore through a two-family home on East Blancke Street late Tuesday night, displacing 10 residents and injuring two firefighters who fell through the floor during rescue operations.
Key Points
- A two-family home on E. Blancke St. was destroyed in a fire Tuesday night.
- Two firefighters were injured after falling through the floor during a rescue search.
- Ten residents were displaced; the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Emergency crews were dispatched around 9:30 p.m. after receiving reports of a house fire in the 200 block of E. Blancke St. When first responders arrived, the second floor of the residence was already fully engulfed in flames. Fearing people were trapped inside, firefighters launched immediate search and rescue efforts.
All residents were confirmed to have safely evacuated the building after a comprehensive search, according to Linden Police and Fire personnel. However, during the interior sweep, two firefighters from the Linden Fire Department fell through the floor.
Both sustained minor injuries and were treated on scene.
“Initial reports indicated that residents may be trapped inside, and firefighters quickly began rescue efforts,” authorities stated in a report.
Fire crews from multiple Union County Mutual Aid departments joined Linden Firefighters in preventing the blaze from spreading to adjacent homes, which were evacuated as a precaution. The fire was brought under control and extinguished in just over an hour.
The damaged structure has been deemed uninhabitable, and ten individuals have been displaced. Officials have not released their identities and are currently investigating the cause of the fire.
A late-night inferno left 10 homeless and injured two firefighters in a dramatic Linden blaze.
