Montclair Residents Rescued From Fire Escapes During Blaze

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Montclair firefighters rescued several residents of an apartment building near Claremont and North Fullerton avenues from their fire escapes during a blaze last weekend. Nobody was injured, but several tenants of the building were displaced due to the damage, authorities said.

According to the Montclair Fire Department, when a crew arrived at the scene at 12:36 a.m. on Sunday, they found flames coming out of the balcony areas of all four floors at the rear of the building.

Firefighters leaped into action, using ground ladders to rescue several residents from fire escapes, authorities said.

The fire eventually reached 2nd alarm status, with units from Bloomfield, Orange, East Orange, Clifton, West Orange, Cedar Grove and Verona helping to bring the conflagration under control and cover the township. The last units cleared the scene at 4:02 a.m.

Authorities said there was severe fire and smoke damage to some apartments, and other apartments had varying levels of smoke and water damage.

Several residents were displaced due to the damage, but tenants in unaffected areas were allowed to return to the building, officials said.

The fire was caused by an electrical malfunction in the rear balcony ceiling of one of the apartments, Montclair fire officials said.

Local videographer Jeff Stang posted the following video with footage taken at the scene.

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