Woman, 2 Children Jump From Window To Escape Four-Alarm Blaze In Paterson
PATERSON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A woman and two young children jumped from a second floor window to escape a four-alarm fire that ripped through several homes in Paterson, displacing dozens of residents.
The fire broke out around 4 a.m. Friday at a multi-family home on Ellison Street by Rosa Parks Boulevard and quickly spread to two other buildings.
PHOTOS: 4-Alarm Paterson Fire
"It looked like a war zone because the two houses were ablaze," fire victim Yvonne Anderson said.
Jermaine Stewart woke up to the smoke filling his bedroom.
"First look it was one billow and next look I couldn't even see the house next to me," he told CBS2's Ilana Gold. "It was extremely scary, first thing that I did was go through my house knocking on everybody's door to get them out of the house."
Woman, 2 Children Jump From Window To Escape Four-Alarm Blaze In Paterson
Ricky Murray was returning home from work when he suddenly saw flames pouring out of the home. That's when he said he watched as the woman, a 6-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy jump from the window.
"All three of them hit the floor, but the little girl was first, then the little boy and then their mom," he told 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck.
Murray, initially pushed back by the heat, got through a hole in the fence and dragged them out.
"I grabbed the little girl, I picked her and put her over the fence -- somebody grabbed her," he said. "The mother, we got her out of there. The little boy, he was like closest to the house. That fire was blazing."
Stewart also jumped in to help.
"When I saw the little boy on the floor and no one could reach him I had to step in," Stewart said.
He grabbed the injured boy from the ground and carried him away from the fire.
Fire officials said the woman and children were taken to the hospital to be treated for their injuries. Another person is being treated for smoke inhalation.
More than 40 people have been displaced. The Red Cross is helping eight families from the fire, providing emergency housing along with food, clothing and infant supplies.
"It's devastating. I wonder if there's anything I can salvage from it because we lose everything," Anderson said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
It is unclear if the home had working smoke detectors.
