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A five-alarm fire that ripped through an apartment building in Passaic on Saturday left dozens of people without a home and sent two firefighters to the hospital for heat exhaustion, officials said.
The fire that broke out just after 1 p.m. on School Street damaged two adjacent buildings and left an estimated 80 people with nowhere to live, Passaic Mayor Hector Lora said. Firefighters from Clifton, Paterson, Wallington, Garfield and East Rutherford rushed to the scene as the blaze went to five alarms, Lora said.
Lora, who was at the scene, said the fire appeared to start on the third floor of one of the buildings on School Street. The roof of that building later collapsed, leaving the residential buildings on either side “structurally unsound,” he said.
Two firefighters were overcome by heat and a resident was treated for smoke inhalation. But otherwise, there appear to be no other injuries, Lora said. The fire was declared under control shortly after 5 p.m.
“We have been able to account for everyone on record in the buildings,” he said. The mayor estimated that between 70 and 80 people lived in the three buildings.
The American Red Cross arrived to assist with relocation efforts, and the city is using the nearby Dayton Avenue Educational Complex as an emergency shelter, Lora said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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