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A passerby alerted authorities to the fire that broke on the first floor of DP's Pub and Seafood Grill on River Drive shortly after 2:30 a.m. Friday, April 12, responders said.
Firefighters found flames engulfing the bar and spreading quickly through the upper floors.
Police Capt. Mario Pozo said two second-floor tenants were treated for smoke inhalation at the scene after responding Garfield police officers got them out. Living arrangements for all of the tenants were being made, the captain said.
The firefighter was treated Hackensack University Medical Center for smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion, Pozo said.
The buik of the fire was knocked down in a little over an hour. It was declared under control shortly before 5:30 a.m.
The cause remains under investigation.
Mutual aid at the scene and in coverage was provided by, among others, firefighters from Elmwood Park, East Rutherford, Hackensack, Lodi, Maywood, Paramus, Passaic, Rochelle Park, Saddle Brook and Wallington.
The County Wide Emergency Response Team and Bayonne Fire Canteen also responded.
A gathering place has stood at the corner of River Drive and Morris Avenue across from the Passaic River for nearly two centuries -- and possibly as early as long ago as 1800.
Steve's Bar occupied the space the longest before Nelson Kelly bought the place and renamed it Kelly's Tavern more than 50 years ago.
It became DPs in the early 1970s and kept the name after Donald Warnet, his wife Rosa and stepson Anthony bought it five years ago.
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