Officials: Woman killed, her husband critically injured in Passaic apartment fire
Fire officials say the fire happened at a building on Madison Street.
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A New Year’s Eve fire killed a 50-year-old Passaic woman, according to authorities.
Fire officials say the fire happened at a building on Madison Street.
The three-story apartment building where this fire broke out is shut down to all tenants until water is restored and the fire alarms are reset.
City officials say the fire started on the first floor and that the victim was pulled from the building through the first-floor window.
Her 66-year-old husband was also rescued by firefighters through that same window.
He was hospitalized at St. Barnabas and is being treated for critical injuries.
There are 25 units within the three-story complex.
Tenants say they started hearing people yelling in the hallway about a fire at around 9:30 p.m.
One woman said she eventually heard smoke alarms but didn’t hear a building alarm. She spoke to News 12 New Jersey but did not want her identity revealed.
“By the time I opened the door it was black it was scary, I basically thought I was going to die,” she said. “I was just trying to get my mother out, not thinking of grabbing anything but my mother.”
Officials say 59 people live in the building. Mayor Hector Lora says four are in a nearby shelter that has been set up.
The mayor could not confirm ten ants’ concerns about the building’s alarm possible not working. He said the fire department does need to inspect the building’s fire alarm system to ensure it’s working properly.
Tenants were allowed to get inside and grab some of their belongings.
