Fire At Verizon Building In Montclair; Officials Investigate Cause

MONTCLAIR, NJ — A fire took place at the Verizon building on Gates Avenue in Montclair last weekend, officials announced Monday.

Dispatchers at the Montclair Fire Department got a fire alarm notification from Verizon’s alarm company at 7:37 a.m. on Sunday.

Firefighters arrived to find smoke on multiple floors of the building, which was vacant at the time. Here’s what happened next, authorities said:

“MFD units quickly stretched multiple hose lines into the structure to fight and extinguish the fire. The building is a large commercial space filled with technology for the switching of Verizon’s phone calls and FiOS; the structure is rife with voids for running wires and cabling. Fire Department members initially had difficulty locating the fire as it was hidden in the ceiling. This was a very labor-intensive fire and required many personnel working in a concerted effort. MFD units ventilated the building, located and extinguished the source of the fire.”

The blaze reached two-alarm status. It caused major fire damage to the wiring in the building and smoke damage throughout the structure, authorities said.

There were no reported injuries. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, authorities said.

Fire Chief Robert Duncan said there weren’t any Verizon service interruptions due to the early notification of the alarm system and “quick action” from the MFD.

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