Massive Blaze In Hoboken Leaves About A Dozen People Homeless

HOBOKEN, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - Fire tore through a five-story building in downtown Hoboken, destroying a store and the condos above it.

About a dozen people have been left homeless after flames shot through the roof of the building on Washington Street.

Firefighters from Hoboken, Newark and Elizabeth battled the blaze, which started around 7 p.m. Sunday night. It burned for four hours, reported 1010 WINS' Sonia Rincon.

Officials believe the fire started in the ground floor grocery store and then shot up all five floors before roaring through the roof.

People who lived in the top floors of the building were evacuated from the roof by ladder.

One person was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation. Two others were treated on the scene.

"I feel awful for the people who live there. I feel awful for the people that own the store down below. Everything's gone, it's quite apparent," one man told Rincon.

Several dramatic videos of the blaze were uploaded to YouTube.

The videos show the entire roof of the structure engulfed in flame as firefighters pour water onto it.

In the video below, you can see firefighters atop a ladder hosing the fire down as waves of smoke wash over them.

Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer told Rincon construction code officials will be examining the building.

"They'll be starting to check the building as far as whether or not they can go back in," Zimmer said.

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