Fort Lee Apartment Complex Without Heat After Boiler Room Fire

Residents of a 66-unit garden apartment complex in Fort Lee are without heat and hot water after a boiler room fire Saturday morning, the borough’s fire chief said.

Firefighters were on the scene within minutes of the 7 a.m. call and found flames shooting through the roof of a utility building that houses the boiler at the Plaza Gardens Apartments on Center Avenue, Fire Chief Keith Sabatino said.  The building is separate from the apartments and there were no injuries.

Although the apartments were not damaged, residents were being evacuated to a shelter at the borough senior center because the complex was without heat or hot water, Sabatino said. It was not immediately known how many residents were using the shelter or when service would be restored.

A preliminary investigation revealed a faulty boiler caused the blaze, Sabatino said. 

Updated: An official with the Fort Lee Office of Emergency Management (OEM) told Patch Sunday morning that a reception area was set up Saturday for residents in need of relocation assistance in the wake of the fire, but that a shelter had not been set up at the senior center. Residents were asked to contact family or friends, but those who did not have anyone to stay with were relocated through the OEM, the official said.

Residents who still need assistance are asked to contact the Fort Lee OEM at 201-592-3500, ext. 1512 or the .