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Bergen County Prosecutor’s Arson Investigations Unit

UPDATE: Arson Investigators Probe Multi-Truck Fire In Ridgefield UPDATE: Arson Investigators Probe Multi-Truck Fire In Ridgefield
Update: Arson Investigators Probe Multi-Truck Fire In Ridgefield 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Investigators were probing the cause of a multi-truck fire in Ridgefield that sent up a column of black smoke visible for miles. No injuries were reported in the three-alarm blaze, which ignited behind the Hanjin warehouse on Railroad Avenue near Pleasantview Avenue shortly before 1 p.m. Sunday, March 3. At least four box trucks and rigs were destroyed or severely damaged. Mutual aid responders either at the scene or in coverage included firefighters from Cliffside Park, Fairview, Leonia, Palisades Park and Ridgefield Park. The County Wide Emergency Response Team also responded. …
Intense Fire Ravages Basement Classroom At Lyndhurst School Intense Fire Ravages Basement Classroom At Lyndhurst School
Intense Fire Ravages Basement Classroom At Lyndhurst School An early Saturday evening fire ravaged a basement classroom in a Lyndhurst grammar school. Firefighters responding to the Washington School on Ridge Road were met by intense heat and smoke that obscured all visibility shortly after 6 p.m. Sept. 16, 1st Assistant Fire Chief Paul Haggerty said. They kept the two-alarm blaze contained to the classroom with no injuries reported, he said. “An aggressive attack was to thank for avoiding what could have been a bad day here,” Haggerty said from the school. Fire officials and the township Office of Emergency Management have already begun mapping …
UPDATE: Mahwah Woman Burned Herself In Condo Bedroom Arson, Police Say UPDATE: Mahwah Woman Burned Herself In Condo Bedroom Arson, Police Say
Update: Mahwah Woman Burned Herself In Condo Bedroom Arson, Police Say A Mahwah woman who was charged with setting fire to her bedroom had to be treated for a flash burn that authorities said she sustained in the blaze. Amel Mersali, 32, used a common lighter to ignite a flammable liquid in her Hawthorne Lane unit at the Ridge Gardens condo development – injuring herself in the process -- around 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 4, township police reported. Sprinklers knocked down the flames, which were extinguished by firefighters who contained the blaze to the bedroom. Detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Arson Investigations Unit were called to the scene alo…
Fire Ravages Mahwah Home Fire Ravages Mahwah Home
Fire Ravages Mahwah Home A raging fire ravaged a Mahwah home. The fire ignited in the attached three-car garage and raced through the nearly $1.5 million home set back off a long driveway near Young World Day School on Wyckoff Avenue shortly before 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1. The owner quickly got out and watched in anguish as firefighters battled the three-alarm blaze. They went to an exterior operation, heavily dousing the flames with a trio of aerials in front and back before moving inside of the 4,200-square-foot home after the second-floor ceiling collapsed.  The fire was declared under control shortly aft…
SEE ANYTHING? Arson Investigators Probe String Of Suspicious Fires At Bergen Park SEE ANYTHING? Arson Investigators Probe String Of Suspicious Fires At Bergen Park
SEE Anything? Arson Investigators Probe String Of Suspicious Fires At Bergen Park A half-dozen suspicious fires at a county park in Elmwood Park over the past several months have drawn the scrutiny of local and county investigators. No one was injured in any of the brush fires that began last December at Artesian Fields, a passive park with walking and running trails, said Police Chief Michael Foligno, who is also the borough administrator. The most recent was mid-Friday morning. Elmwood Park firefighters doused them all relatively quickly, Foligno said. Foligno's detectives are investigating with their colleagues from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Arson Investigation…
Smoky Holiday Fire Doused Off Route 46 Smoky Holiday Fire Doused Off Route 46
Smoky Holiday Fire Doused Off Route 46 Firefighters doused a smoky July 4th blaze behind an industrial building in Hasbrouck Heights. Massive plumes of smoke could be seen for miles after the fire broke out in wooden pallets of foam insulation and spread to a section of the building off westbound Route 46 between Routes 17 and 80 near the Hilton Hotel shortly before 8 p.m. No injuries were reported. The Bergen County Prosecutor's Arson Investigations Unit responded to probe the cause. At the scene.Mary Anne Harlow Patterson Bucket loaders were summoned to remove the damaged pallets.  Mutual aid responders either at the sc…
Fire Doused In Basement Of Downtown Wood-Ridge Shops Fire Doused In Basement Of Downtown Wood-Ridge Shops
Fire Doused In Basement Of Downtown Wood-Ridge Shops Working sprinklers prevented a potential disaster when a fire broke out in downtown Wood-Ridge. Local authorities didn't immediately disclose a possible cause of the two-alarm Valley Boulevard blaze, which broke out in a common basement area below Emilia Romagna Pizza & Ristorante around 8 a.m. Monday. They did, however, alert the Bergen County Prosecutor's Arson Investigations Unit after allegedly finding separate points of ignition. No injuries were reported. Carlstadt, Little Ferry, Lodi and Moonachie firefighters provided mutual aid.
Arson Suspected In Hackensack Apartment Fire, Responders Say Arson Suspected In Hackensack Apartment Fire, Responders Say
Arson Suspected In Hackensack Apartment Fire, Responders Say A pack of matches reportedly found outside a Hackensack apartment that was destroyed by fire brought arson investigators. Hackensack firefighters said they had the two-alarm, fifth-floor blaze at The Newport Apartments on Prospect Street under control within a half hour after it ignited at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. No serious injuries were reported, they said. Units above and below sustained some damage. Mutual aid fire companies from Englewood and Teaneck assisted. A Hackensack University Medical Center ambulance also was on standby. The Bergen County Prosecutor's Arson Investigations Uni…
Father, Son Killed, Mom, 66, Critical In North Arlington House Fire Father, Son Killed, Mom, 66, Critical In North Arlington House Fire
Father, Son Killed, Mom, 66, Critical In North Arlington House Fire UPDATE: A father and son were killed and the mom rescued in a pre-dawn house fire in North Arlington, authorities said. Furious CPR efforts on the 75-year-old father and his 44-year-old son on the front lawn of the 9th Street home were fruitless after the three-alarm fire trapped them shortly after 4 a.m. Friday, Police Chief Scott Hedenberg said. Safwat F. Saad and his son, Maged Saad, were both pronounced dead at the scene, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The mother, Amal Z. Saad, 66, was taken to Clara Maas Medical Center in Belleville in critical condition after responders …
Arson Investigators Probe Post-Graduation Fire At St. Joseph's Regional HS Field Arson Investigators Probe Post-Graduation Fire At St. Joseph's Regional HS Field
Arson Investigators Probe Post-Graduation Fire At St. Joseph's Regional HS Field Authorities suspect a fire on the field where St. Joseph’s Regional High School in Montvale had held its 2021 graduation ceremony hours earlier was set. The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Arson Investigations Unit was investigating the fire along with borough police and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Identification, which collected evidence. Initial details remained sketchy, although unconfirmed reports were that the grandstand caught fire sometime around midnight. There were no injuries, Montvale Police Chief Joseph Sanfilippo said. Park Ridge firefighters assisted their Mont…
Firefighters Battle Wind-Whipped Blaze, Water Problems, Frigid Temps In Garfield Firefighters Battle Wind-Whipped Blaze, Water Problems, Frigid Temps In Garfield
Firefighters Battle Wind-Whipped Blaze, Water Problems, Frigid Temps In Garfield UPDATE: Fierce frigid winds fanned a furious fire that engulfed one home and damaged another Monday night in Garfield, displacing 13 residents. Two cats were rescued, as well. Wires also caught fire -- with one of them falling next to an engine -- and a transformer blew shortly after the Scudder Street blaze broke out around 10 p.m. A firefighter sustained a shoulder injury that was treated at the scene, Police Capt. Richard Uram said. No other injuries were reported, he said. Flames consumed the first two floors of one home while quickly spreading. A neighboring home caught fire roughly…
Snow-Stuck Little Ferry Driver Burns To Death After Refusing To Let Off Gas Snow-Stuck Little Ferry Driver Burns To Death After Refusing To Let Off Gas
Snow-Stuck Little Ferry Driver Burns To Death After Refusing To Let Off Gas Police tried in vain to rescue a Little Ferry driver who was killed when his SUV went up in flames as he tried to drive out of a snowbank Wednesday morning. Responding to a call from a borough DPW worker, Little Ferry Police Officer Joseph Convery found a Mazda CX-5 that jumped a parking divider and got stuck in the snow near the soccer field off Mehrhof Road shortly after 9 a.m., Police Chief James Walters said. The 62-year-old borough driver was flooring the accelerator when Convery – who’s also a borough firefighter -- started banging on the window trying to get him to stop, Walters said…
Firefighters Battle Fourth Of July Blaze At Former Diner Near GWB In Fort Lee Firefighters Battle Fourth Of July Blaze At Former Diner Near GWB In Fort Lee
Firefighters Battle Fourth Of July Blaze At Former Diner Near GWB In Fort Lee A firefighter was hospitalized in a destructive Fourth of July fire at the site of the former Plaza Diner near the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, responders said. The extent of injuries wasn’t immediately known. The fire, believed to be accidental, broke out in the rear of the Koryeo Grill on Lemoine Avenue around 7:45 a.m., authorities said. It quickly spread, forcing firefighters to battle it from the exterior. They had the blaze under control within two hours. The injured firefighter was brought to Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, responders said, adding that two others sus…
UPDATE: Seven Hillsdale Firefighters Injured In Westwood Blaze UPDATE: Seven Hillsdale Firefighters Injured In Westwood Blaze
Update: Seven Hillsdale Firefighters Injured In Westwood Blaze A recently-sold Westwood house that was undergoing renovations went up in flames overnight, injuring seven Hillsdale firefighters. The firefighters were checked out for what turned out to be minor injuries at nearby Pascack Valley Medical Center (HUMC) after a porch roof collapsed on them in the 5:30 a.m. Oakland Avenue blaze on Wednesday. "While attempting to make a push, the porch roof collapsed," their department said. "All were removed, with minor assistance." All were released from the hospital four hours later.  Mutual aid also included firefighters from Bergenfield, Emerson, Frank…
Massive Christmas Morning Fire Destroys Mahwah Building Supply Company Massive Christmas Morning Fire Destroys Mahwah Building Supply Company
Massive Christmas Morning Fire Destroys Mahwah Building Supply Company UPDATE: Authorities reported no casualties in a massive pre-dawn Christmas fire that ripped through a commercial building in Mahwah and continued burning hours after it broke out. What became a five-alarm blaze broke out around 4:40 a.m. at Arzee Building Supply on Franklin Turnpike next to the Ramapo River. Members of all five Mahwah fire companies were assisted by nearly 20 others from surrounding Bergen and Rockland county towns, along with police and EMS units, Police Chief Stephen Jaffe said. Seven elevated streams were in operation in the building, which began to collapse within an …
Man Injured In Dumont House Fire Charged With Assaulting Officer Man Injured In Dumont House Fire Charged With Assaulting Officer
Man Injured In Dumont House Fire Charged With Assaulting Officer Two men trying to get inside a burning Dumont home where a pit bull died in a wind-blown Friday morning fire had to be arrested -- including one who "picked up and threw" a police officer against a car, authorities said. "The house was fully engulfed. You couldn't get inside," Capt. Vincent Tamburro said. Several officers finally subdued the unidentified 26-year-old man, who was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center with burns and smoke inhalation, Tamburro said. The officer who was assaulted had to be treated for back and knee injuries and will likely have to miss work for an exte…
UPDATE: Victim, 48, In Ridgefield House Explosion Dies UPDATE: Victim, 48, In Ridgefield House Explosion Dies
Update: Victim, 48, In Ridgefield House Explosion Dies UPDATE: A 48-year-old Ridgefield man who was burned on 80% of his body when an explosion leveled his Ridgefield home on Monday succumbed to his injuries, authorities said Tuesday. Mark Schellack, who lived alone, was rescued from beneath the rubble of his garage by an off-duty police officer who lives nearby and two uniformed borough officers following the explosion on Abbott Avenue near Elizabeth Street just before 11:30 a.m. Monday. He was first taken to Hackensack University Medical Center before being flown to Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston. Family members summoned a prie…
Dumont Native Lost 'Virtually Everything' In House Fire; How You Can Help Dumont Native Lost 'Virtually Everything' In House Fire; How You Can Help
Dumont Native Lost 'Virtually Everything' In House Fire; How You Can Help A Garfield man lost nearly all of his belongings after his house broke out in flames overnight Tuesday and then rekindled before dawn. More than $265 had been raised as of Wednesday morning for Rob Sasse, a Dumont native whose Garfield house is under renovation. The Bergen County Prosecutor's Arson Investigations Unit responded to the Grace Avenue blaze, with members of the county sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Identification collecting evidence. The attic fire first ignited just after 10:30 p.m., displacing a tenant, then kicked up again just after 5 a.m., blowing through the roof, responde…
PHOTOS: Garfield House Fire Rekindles Hours Later PHOTOS: Garfield House Fire Rekindles Hours Later
Photos: Garfield House Fire Rekindles Hours Later GARFIELD, N.J. -- A fire that broke out overnight Tuesday in a Garfield home under renovation rekindled just before dawn, responders said.  No injuries were reported. The Bergen County Prosecutor's Arson Investigations Unit responded to the Grace Avenue blaze, with members of the county sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Identification collecting evidence. The attic fire first ignited just after 10:30 p.m., displacing a tenant, then kicked up again just after 5 a.m., blowing through the roof, responders said. Damien Danis contributed to this article. ****** ALSO SEE: A boy riding a bicycle wa…