Whenever we hear or read about a fire in a residential neighborhood, we always wait for the "illegal accessory apartment" shoe to drop. And it apparently has, yet again!
Only a matter of time, and continued non-enforcement of the building code, for the other shoe to drop here in Hempstead Town. . .
Two Dead, Six Injured in Englewood Fire
ENGLEWOOD, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- Two people died and one was critically injured in a fire that swept through a multi-family home early Wednesday, authorities said.The three people were trapped in a basement apartment when the fast-moving fire tore through the home just before 3:45 a.m., firefighters told media outlets.
"Their means of egress was cut off by the fire,'' Englewood Fire Capt. Erik Enersen told WABC-TV in New York. "So the firefighters had to do what they had to do to extinguish or at least hold the fire in check until the firefighters could get past and conduct a thorough search and locate the victims.''
The critically injured person was rushed by helicopter to a hospital in Livingston.The names of the dead and injured were not immediately released by authorities, who were investigating whether the basement apartment was legal to rent out.
A total of 14 people lived inside the house at the time of the fire and firefighters rescued nine people, including an18-month-old child. They were transported to hospitals with various injuries, mostly smoke inhalation.
The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office was investigating the cause of the fire.William Galda, first assistant prosecutor, said investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire."My gut feeling from past experiences is that these things are usually due to an overloaded circuit,'' he said. "But they will investigate to determine whether or not the fire was intentionally set or not.''
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