Massive Blaze Destroys NJ Rehab Center

Nearly five hours after firefighters first responded to a fire that engulfed a rehabilitation center in Paterson, the blaze was declared under control, city officials said.

The fire at Straight & Narrow facility in Paterson, which began just before 11 a.m. Saturday, quickly grew to a 5-alarm fire and displaced hundreds of residents, said Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale. The destroyed residential treatment center serves people battling drug and alcohol addiction.

“I’m having flashbacks of Marcal,” Mayor Andre Sayegh said in a Facebook Live video, referring to the 10-alarm January inferno that destroyed the historic paper plant in Elmwood Park.

Within 40 minutes of the fire starting, part of the large blue building collapsed, Paterson fire officials said. There was also an explosion, possibly a “barrel with some substance,” but they do not believe it accelerated the fire.

“The explosion was really intense,” said Paterson Fire Chief Brian McDermott. “The barrel went up 300 feet easily, blew the roof off.”

Residents and neighbors evacuated the area and no injuries were reported. More than 300 people are seeking shelter, officials said, adding that Red Cross and the Office of Emergency Management are setting up shelters. Authorities also evacuated residents from nearby homes, but the blaze did not spread to adjacent buildings.

A demolition crew was on route to the scene Saturday afternoon. Speziale said the building, operated by the Diocese of Paterson, is unsalvageable.

“It was just fully engulfed,” he said when firefighters arrived. “The building is completely lost and it’s going to have to come down.”

The mayor and Speziale commended fire and police for their commitment and help, noting several neighboring towns responded for mutual aid including Fair Lawn, Pompton Lakes and Glen Rock.

“Police have done a tremendous job,” Sayegh said.

Juan Otid, who has worked at the halfway house for 12 years, said he arrived to work around 10 and left to get lunch. By the time he got back, he saw the grey and white billows of smoke, which filled the air with debris.

“It happened so fast,” he said.

Another neighbor said the heat from the fire was so bad, she could feel it in her house.

Roads remain closed in the area, but power is restored to houses in the neighborhood and transit traffic has resumed, authorities said.

The Straight & Narrow property includes a 50-bed halfway house facility for people part of the state’s drug court system, according to the group’s website.

Officials would not speculate on a possible cause of the blaze, which was under investigation.

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