Seven Households Displaced After Basement Fire In Hoboken

HOBOKEN, NJ — After dealing with two days of transformer fires last Sunday and Monday, the Hoboken Fire Department battled a blaze in a basement apartment at 419 Monroe St. on Tuesday, said officials. One person required treatment for smoke inhalation but declined transportation to a hospital, said Fire Chief Brian Crimmins.

A total of seven households had to find other housing as repairs began. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

A video on Twitter showed the firefighters having to battle thick smoke rapidly emerging from under the house.

Councilwoman Emily Jabbour wrote:

Crimmins said the department responded at 3:48 p.m. Tuesday to a five-story occupied multiple dwelling.

"Upon arrival, black smoke was coming from the basement," he said. "Companies evacuated the building and stretched two hoselines to extinguish the fire. Companies searched for victims, ventilated by opening windows, and cut a hole in the roof to alleviate heat and smoke. Battalion Chief Turner requested a second alarm to ensure adequate staffing."

The department also requested help from the Jersey City Fire Department. Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corps and McCabe Emergency Medical Services were also on the scene to treat patients.

The department terminated command at 8:05 p.m.

"At this incident, balloon frame construction of the building posed a challenge, along with the combustible siding," Crimmins said. "But Group D did a great job in preventing the fire from extending vertically throughout the structure, and horizontally to adjacent buildings."

Ballon frame construction, a type of wood-frame construction used in the late 1800s and first half of the 1900s, "can pose a major challenge for firefighters," according to a firefighting website.

The property at 419 Monroe is next to the lot where Frank Sinatra spent his early years, now called "Frank's Place" condos.

Crimmins said that people had offered assistance, and he had passed along the offers to the landlord.

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