Fire Rages In Passaic Apartment Building; 2 Firefighters Injured

PASSAIC, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- An extra-alarm fire was raging Wednesday evening in an apartment building in Passaic, New Jersey.

The fire broke out at 8:45 p.m. on the roof of a five-story occupied apartment building at 280 Gregory Ave., at Broadway in Passaic, local fire officials said. As CBS2's Valerie Castro reported, the fire was still burning as of 11 p.m., and ladder trucks were still spraying water.

The fire was raised to five alarms at 9:20 p.m., and later to six, seven and finally eight alarms, officials said. Flames shot several feet from the roof and upper floors, and smoke shot out of the roof in a thick column.

One woman escaped the building with her 4-year-old grandson.

"My husband opened the door, and he saw all the smoke, but the alarms never went off – never," the woman said. "It's really scary, you know? It is."

Two firefighters were injured, and were taken to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson in unknown conditions, officials said.