A fire at a senior housing building in North Bergen left two people dead, while also injuring two firefighters and two police officers. Dozens of people who live in the high-rise building have been forced out. NBC New York’s Charles Watson reports.
Two people died and two police officers were hurt when a fire broke out a housing complex in New Jersey overnight, authorities say.
According to police in North Bergen, the fire broke out on the 10th floor of a 16-story senior housing high-rise on Grand Avenue around 1:30 a.m. Thursday.
Fire was shooting through the apartment windows when authorities arrived at the scene. Officials say a 77-year-old woman and an 88-year-old man died. The man was identified as Reynaldo Tatis, while a neighbor said the woman who died had lived in the unit with her husband for more than a decade.
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WATCH HERE"My heart is broken. She’s a beautiful person," said the neighbor, Augusto Yong. "I would have rather lost my whole apartment and have them alive."
The fire didn't spread to any other units.
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SIGN UP Two police officers were taken to a hospital for smoke inhalation. Two firefighters also got hurt, but their injuries were described as minor and they were treated at the scene.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Up to 17 apartments near the one where the fire broke out could be impacted by repairs and other needs, leading to the displacement of more than two dozen people.
