A fire in the early morning hours of Friday, Sept. 17, in North Arlington, took the lives of a father and son and sent the family’s matriarch to the hospital, where her condition remains unknown.
EMTs could be seen working valiantly on the front lawn of 1 Ninth St., to resuscitate 75-year-old Safwat Saad and his son, 44-year-old Maged Saad. Those efforts, sadly, were unsuccessful and both were declared dead on scene.
North Arlington Police Chief Scott Hedenberg addressed the media on scene — which included representatives from the New York City press corps, and said at around 4:15 a.m. that day, the North Arlington PD received a call alerting them to the fire and that several occupants were still trapped inside the home. Firefighters from North Arlington, Kearny and Lyndhurst arrived at the scene for the initial rescue efforts, Hedenberg said.
Using a neighbor’s ladder, first responders evacuated a 66-year-old woman — Safwat’s wife and Maged’s mother — from a second-story window before she was taken to an area hospital.
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and the North Arlington Police Department continue to investigate the fire, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
The fire, however, does not appear to be suspicious, Hedenberg said.
