SOFD Assists With Apartment Fire on Orange/West Orange Border [VIDEO]

Seeking shelter from the pounding rain, residents huddled beneath umbrellas as they watched crews of firefighters battle a two-alarm blaze in their apartment building on Valley Street along the Orange/West Orange border Tuesday night.

The fire broke out around 9 p.m. in the rear area of the three-story wooden dwelling. No injuries were reported but the blaze caused severe fire and water damage to the apartments, according to Frank DeAngelis, Deputy Chief for the Orange Fire Department.

He said the fire likely started on the second floor and spread through the walls before reaching the third floor. Though all residents were evacuated from the building, DeAngelis said he did not know when they would be able to return to their homes.

The deputy chief said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Resident Dale Dickson, 26, said he heard the fire alarm go off and began smelling smoke in his apartment. Dickson told Patch he starting running door to door to warn his neighbors and evacuated with his roomates and two dogs.

Dickson said he saw flames in the back stairwell on the second floor and tried to extinguish it but could not locate a fire extinguisher. "The fire was inside the walls, it smelled like burning wood."

Roughly a dozen individuals reside in the building. One of those residents, who only released his initials, said he was a "little nervous" when the alarms went off but "tried to keep cool." N.W, 49, had just moved in a month ago to a third floor apartment. "All my stuff is new," he said. He hoped none of it had been ruined by the fire.

Fire crews surrounded the building and could be seen working on the roof. Freeman, Nassau, Forrest and McChesney streets were blocked off by police vehicles as fire trucks lined Valley Street.

West Orange fire officials provided mutual aid along with South Orange, Irvington and Montclair fire departments.