2 Workers Injured In Extra-Alarm Fire At Paterson Auto Body Shop
PATERSON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Two people were hurt – one of them suffering severe burns – when a fire broke in the auto repair shop where they were working in Paterson, N.J. Friday.
As 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck reported, the fire broke out Friday afternoon at Jose's Generators on Oak Street in Paterson. The men were working on a car that caught fire, and one of them suffered severe burns and was taken to the St. Barnabas Medical Center Burn Unit in Livingston.
Paterson fire Deputy Chief Mike Fleming said the hot and humid weather made for brutal conditions in battling the blaze.
2 Workers Injured In Extra-Alarm Fire At Paterson Auto Body Shop
"We have to rotate them frequently through a rehab area – drinks, you know, air conditioned fans, and give them breaks. And unfortunately, we've got to keep rotating the personnel through here, so it pretty much wipes out the fire department on a day like today," he said.
Fleming said temperature inside the gear can reach 120 degrees.
"Eighty pounds of gear, plus you're sweating, plus the humidity – it takes a toll on the guys," he said. "You get about a 10-minute work span out of a guy with full gear. That's about it."
The fire reached three alarms before it was extinguished around 1:45 p.m. At least two firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion.
Firefighters also had to contend with low water pressure due to open hydrants, officials said.
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