Above: A woman awaits rescue on a fire escape at a Beech St. fire Sunday afternoon in Kearny. She was ultimately brought to safety without incident. (Photo courtesy of Andrew Taylor via Youtube).
By Karen Zautyk
Observer Correspondent
KEARNY —
A three-alarm fire in an apartment building on Beech St. at the Belleville Pike on Sunday afternoon displaced 90 residents, but everyone was evacuated safely, authorities reported.
Fire Chief Steve Dyl said the blaze broke out in a third-floor apartment at 425 Beech St. at 3:58 p.m. and was under control by 4:57 p.m. Along with the KFD, firefighters from North Arlington, Harrison, Jersey City and North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue were at the scene.
One woman was rescued from a fire escape by KFD Capt. Gary Dye and FF Bill Crockett. Other occupants of the 41-unit, five-story brick building were evacuated, many with the help of Kearny Police Officers Frank West and Chris Levchak, Dyl noted.
No injuries were reported, and firefighters said “multiple cats” were also rescued.
One of the factors aiding the evacuation was the existence of fire doors in the building’s hallways, Dyl said.
“These helped control the smoke,” allowing residents to escape safely, he said.
The Red Cross found temporary shelter for five of the displaced tenants, but the rest reportedly were staying with friends or relatives. As of Monday, no one had yet been allowed to return, pending a safety inspection.
The unit where the fire started was severely damaged, Dyl said, with some minor damage to the apartment above.
The cause is under investigation.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.