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Fire Destroys Apartments, Businesses, Closes Route 46 In Clifton

A multiple-alarm fire raged in Clifton on Wednesday, destroying apartments and businesses, closing Route 46 in both directions and sending up plumes of smoke that could be seen for miles.

421 Piaget Avenue, Clifton

421 Piaget Avenue, Clifton

Photo Credit: BACKGROUND: Jo Fehl / INSETS: Dawn Fantasia, unknown

A massive contingent of area firefighters converged on the mixed-use Piaget Avenue building after the blaze broke out in a second-floor apartment and then spread to the cockloft.

No serious injuries were immediately reported, nor was the cause of the fire immediately known.

The building houses two restaurants -- Aurora Ristorante and Zen Sushi -- two other businesses (Smoke Shop and Epic Cuts) and four upstairs apartments. 

Firefighters almost immediately went to an exterior attack after arriving around 2:30 p.m. An hour and a half in, the roof collapsed.

They continued to pour water on the blaze as the number of alarms reached five by early evening.

Nearby homes and businesses were evacuated as a precaution.

The building will have to be bulldozed, responders at the scene said.

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