Maplewood FD Helps Fight Millburn Commercial Fire

It took more than 150 firefighters and about three hours to get a five-alarm fire in a Millburn Avenue store under control on Sunday.

Smoke billowed from the building at 517 Millburn Ave. from the fire, which started in the basement. The fire gutted the store that once housed Unica and was recently under renovation. There were no reported injuries.

Millburn Fire Chief Michael Roberts said firefighters tried to battle the blaze in the basement, but were chased away several times because of the heat and fire. The fire ended up coming through the store's floor and then roof. Flames could be seen coming through the roof of the building It was at that time firefighters were pulled from the building and went into defensive mode, Roberts said.

The store at 517 Millburn Ave. was completely destroyed because of the fire and the roof collapsed, Roberts said.

But firefighters were able to stop the fire from spreading to the adjacent businesses, One World and Stone and Tile Design, Roberts said. There was smoke damage, though, and firefighers went into those businesses and used shielding to attempt to protect the merchandise. The basements were full of water, Roberts said, and firefighters were pumping it out.

Captain Joseph Callaghan of the Maplewood Fire Department forwarded this report from Captain Brett Derewsky: "Maplewood Engine 32 from Station 2 responded. They were one of the first units to advance a hoseline into the basement.  They encountered high heat, zero visibility. They were attempting to locate the fire when the evacuation tones sounded , ordering all units out of the building."

Callaghan said that Maplewood Engine 32 remained on scene for five hours performing exterior operations.

Fire investigators were at the scene, but they had not determined a cause for the fire. Roberts could not say if the fire was suspicious or accidental.

An eyewitness said smoke was visible coming out of a door from the basement on the sidewalk before firefighters arrived. The fire was first reported as a manhole fire.

Traffic on Millburn Avenue in the area was shut down. Despite the bitter cold, a crowd of spectators gathered across the street at Cait and Abby's Bakery. Also, there were people sitting in Enzzo's Restaurant watching the firefighters work.

Other stores in the building include Chai Center Judaica, Glenwood Cafe, and an opticians office.

Firefighters issued a second alarm as soon as they arrived around 11:30 a.m. and third and fourth alarms were issued a few minutes later. The fifth alarm went out around 2:45 p.m. Units from nearby towns arrived to offer their assistance. An Irvington ladder truck had a ladder on the roof, while Newark, Summit, Maplewood, Springfield, West Orange, South Orange, Livingston, Nutley and Caldwell also helped fight the fire. Roberts estimated as many as 175 firefighters were at the scene.

New Jersey Transit parked an out-of-service bus at the scene for firefighters to use to get warm. The Millburn-Short Hills Volunteer First Aid Squad and Summit EMS were standing by. The Millburn-Short Hills chapter of the American Red Cross was also at the location.