Fire Spreads To 3 Homes In Paterson, N.J.
PATERSON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A fire spread to three homes in Paterson, New Jersey late Tuesday afternoon.
The fire broke out around 5:30 p.m. in the rear of a home at 195 N. 4th St. in Paterson, and spread to two other homes, fire officials told CBS2.
One firefighter suffered a minor injury while fighting the blaze, officials said.
Bryant Simmons, the owner of the building where the fire broke out, said he was warned of the blaze when he was just steps away.
"I was walking my mother-in-law to the car and a gentleman was right up the street, and he was hollering, 'Fuego, fuego, fuego!'" And I'm like, fuego? Fire? I looked back the back alley, and there was fire – fire coming out of the porch in the back of the house," he said.
Simmons said he first rushed to rescue his children, and then his tenants. He said he, his wife and his three children live in the building, along with another family and a single tenant – a total of 11 people in three apartments.
"Nobody is hurt, thank God," he said.
Simmons said he did not know how it started, and the fire department was still investigating Tuesday evening.
The American Red Cross was on scene late Tuesday to help displaced families.
