Mostly Cloudy 32°
Police & Fire
Off-Duty Wayne Police Recruit, Fiancée Rescue Owner Whose Boat Caught Fire Off-Duty Wayne Police Recruit, Fiancée Rescue Owner Whose Boat Caught Fire
Off-Duty Wayne Police Recruit, Fiancée Rescue Owner Whose Boat Caught Fire An off-duty Wayne police recruit and his fiancée rescued a homeowner who was severely burned when his boat caught fire, authorities said. The Alps Road victim was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital in Livingston after trying to douse the 10:30 a.m. fire himself on Thursday, Detective Capt. Laurence Martin said. Township police recruit Al-Raheem Thomas was traveling on Alps Road with his fiancée -- Unique Zapata, who's a member of the Wayne Memorial Volunteer First Aid Squad -- when they spotted smoke, Martin said. Thomas pulled over, ran to the back of the house and found the boat ablaze, the …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
PHOTOS: Couple Rescued, Landmark Passaic Deli Destroyed PHOTOS: Couple Rescued, Landmark Passaic Deli Destroyed
Photos: Couple Rescued, Landmark Passaic Deli Destroyed PASSAIC, N.J. -- Firefighters rescued a couple while battling a four-alarm blaze that destroyed the landmark King of Delancey kosher deli in Passaic early Wednesday. Several firefighters sustained minor injuries, authorities said. No serious injuries were reported. The 5:30 a.m. blaze began in a rear basement of the 3½-story, multi-use building at Main Avenue and Carlton Place and quickly raced upward, collapsing floors, responders said. Joining their Passaic colleagues were firefighters from Carlstadt, East Rutherford, Little Falls, Wallington and Woodland Park, as well as the Moonachie F…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Children Jump From Fire Escape In Fast-Moving Edgewater Blaze Children Jump From Fire Escape In Fast-Moving Edgewater Blaze
Children Jump From Fire Escape In Fast-Moving Edgewater Blaze EDGEWATER, N.J. -- Flames roared at their backs as some children jumped and others were rescued from a second-floor fire escape Monday night during a roaring blaze that blew through an Edgewater building. A group of men with ladders rushed to help get the girls and an adult out of the second-floor Pro Arts Academy Dance Studio on River Road while other youngsters jumped into their arms or fell to the ground, video shows. The children were coming down a ladder when it suddenly slipped and fell, forcing others to jump as the blaze drew closer. Five people were hospitalized with injuries that…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Children Jump From Fire Escape In Fast-Moving Edgewater Blaze UPDATE: Children Jump From Fire Escape In Fast-Moving Edgewater Blaze
Update: Children Jump From Fire Escape In Fast-Moving Edgewater Blaze EDGEWATER, N.J. -- Flames roared at their backs as some children jumped and others were rescued from a second-floor fire escape Monday night during a roaring blaze that blew through an Edgewater building. A group of men with ladders rushed to help get the girls and an adult out of the second-floor Pro Arts Academy Dance Studio on River Road while other youngsters jumped into their arms or fell to the ground, video shows. The children were coming down a ladder when it suddenly slipped and fell, forcing others to jump as the blaze drew closer. Five people were hospitalized with injuries that…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
PHOTOS: Hillsdale Hero Police Officers Rescue Driver In Burning Car PHOTOS: Hillsdale Hero Police Officers Rescue Driver In Burning Car
Photos: Hillsdale Hero Police Officers Rescue Driver In Burning Car HILLSDALE, N.J. -- An overturned car had burst into flames when two Hillsdale police officers quickly doused the fire with extinguishers, saving the 47-year-old Bergenfield driver inside. The northbound BMW X6 struck a tree and overturned in the driveway of a Kinderkamack Road home near Washington Avenue just before 2 a.m., police said. Finding the undercarriage ablaze, responding Officers Alex Kaplan and Matt Buesser grabbed their extinguishers. Backups provided help until the fire was completely doused. Borough firefighters then extricated the driver, who was taken by Hillsdale Voluntee…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Park Ridge Police Rescue Residents Trapped On Roof In House Fire Park Ridge Police Rescue Residents Trapped On Roof In House Fire
Park Ridge Police Rescue Residents Trapped On Roof In House Fire PARK RIDGE, N.J. -- Park Ridge police rescued two people trapped on the roof of a burning two-family home before dawn Tuesday. The Pascack Road blaze broke out just before 3:30 a.m. in a first-floor apartment bathroom, leaving the second-floor residents trapped on the roof, responders said. Firefighters attacked the flames while police grabbed a nearby ladder and got the residents down safely. One resident sustained minor smoke inhalation, borough firefighters said. No other injuries were reported. Colleagues from Woodcliff Lake and Hillsdale also responded, along with Tri-Boro Ambulance,…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco