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IN CONTROL: North Jersey Wildfire 100% Contained, Threat Is Gone, Officials Say IN CONTROL: North Jersey Wildfire 100% Contained, Threat Is Gone, Officials Say
IN Control: North Jersey Wildfire 100% Contained, Threat Is Gone, Officials Say UPDATE: The wildfire that marched through West Milford the past three days is 100% contained, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service reported on Saturday. The blaze, which was beaten back at first but then grew steadily over the previous 48 hours, finally topped out at 972 acres on April 15 – and that was it, the service said. Fire officials also said this would be the last of the updates from the “Kanouse Wildfire," the largest blaze in North Jersey since 2010. Ten structures in all were threatened – half of which were evacuated – yet none were seriously damaged thanks to the support of fire…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
GREAT NEWS: North Jersey Wildfire 100% Contained, Authorities Report GREAT NEWS: North Jersey Wildfire 100% Contained, Authorities Report
Great NEWS: North Jersey Wildfire 100% Contained, Authorities Report UPDATE: The worst is over: The wildfire that marched through West Milford the past three days is 100% contained, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service reported on Saturday. The blaze, which was beaten back at first but then grew steadily over the previous 48 hours, finally topped out at 972 acres on April 15 – and that was it, the service said. Fire officials also said this would be the last of the updates from the “Kanouse Wildfire," the largest blaze in North Jersey since 2010. Ten structures in all were threatened – half of which were evacuated – yet none were seriously damaged thanks to …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Fair Lawn House Fire Doused (PHOTOS) Fair Lawn House Fire Doused (PHOTOS)
Fair Lawn House Fire Doused (Photos) Firefighters made quick work of a blaze that broke out at a Fair Lawn home early Wednesday, April 5. Flames were spreading from the second floor of the Ruskin Road home to the attic when responders arrived around 7:40 a.m. The fire was under control at approximately 8 a.m. This is a developing story. Check back for more.

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Firefighters Douse Overnight Freight Train Blaze In Maywood Firefighters Douse Overnight Freight Train Blaze In Maywood
Firefighters Douse Overnight Freight Train Blaze In Maywood A rolling dumpster fire of sorts was doused overnight in Maywood after a blaze ignited in a railroad car carrying construction debris and trash. Maywood Avenue was closed from Central to East Hunter Avenue after the train came to a stop, blocking the crossing, just after midnight Friday, March 17. Concern was initially expressed over a car purportedly carrying hazardous materials five or so car-lengths away, but firefighters contained the blaze. The train apparently passed through Elmwood Park and Saddle Brook with the flaming car before eventually stopping. It proceeded to the rail yard …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
'Very Close Call': House Collapses, 22 NYC Firefighters Injured In Staten Island Blaze 'Very Close Call': House Collapses, 22 NYC Firefighters Injured In Staten Island Blaze
'Very Close Call': House Collapses, 22 NYC Firefighters Injured In Staten Island Blaze UPDATE: A total of 22 New York City firefighters were injured – three of them seriously – while battling a blaze that collapsed part of a Staten Island home, the FDNY said Friday. The good news is that all are expected to survive. Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh called the incident a "very close call for the FDNY, which could have lost three members today."   A major collapse was reported minutes into the fire, which ignited in a 2½-story side-by-side duplex on Shotwell Avenue in the Arden Heights section shortly before 1:30 p.m. Feb. 17. The fire quickly went to four alarms, with multi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Homeless Man Assaults Newark Fire Captain With Food Can Homeless Man Assaults Newark Fire Captain With Food Can
Homeless Man Assaults Newark Fire Captain With Food Can A Newark fire captain putting out a fire at a homeless encampment was hospitalized after a homeless man struck him with a can of food, city officials said. The firefighters had just finished putting out the blaze under Route 21 at Riverside Avenue when the man struck the captain with the can around 11 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 27, a statement reads. The captain was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and the homeless man was arrested, and taken to the hospital for crisis evaluation.

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by Cecilia Levine
News
'We Lost A Hero': Aneurysm Takes Beloved Bergen Educator, Firefighter, Church Music Leader, 49 'We Lost A Hero': Aneurysm Takes Beloved Bergen Educator, Firefighter, Church Music Leader, 49
'We Lost A Hero': Aneurysm Takes Beloved Bergen Educator, Firefighter, Church Music Leader, 49 Death came suddenly and without warning for beloved educator, firefighter and church music director Basil Pizzuto of Saddle Brook, leaving legions who knew him shocked, saddened and more than a bit shaken. Pizzuto, an assistant principal at Ridgewood High School, was at work when an aortic aneurysm struck on Wednesday, Nov. 23, a day before he and loved ones had expected to celebrate both Thanksgiving and his 50th birthday. It was a gut punch that spread through multiple communities of those who knew and loved Pizzuto -- from the village's public schools to the Saddle Brook Fire Department…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
UPDATE: No Hydrants Hampers Fight Against Upper Saddle River Mansion Fire At Rockland Border UPDATE: No Hydrants Hampers Fight Against Upper Saddle River Mansion Fire At Rockland Border
Update: No Hydrants Hampers Fight Against Upper Saddle River Mansion Fire At Rockland Border Nearly three dozen mutual aid companies and well over 100 firefighters helped counter a lack of area hydrants as a fast-moving blaze consumed an Upper Saddle River mansion at the Rockland County border over the weekend. No one was injured in the multi-alarm Hillside Avenue blaze, which broke out in the $2.7 million home in the north end of town shortly after 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, and instantly became fully involved, fire officials said. Authorities were investigating the cause. The Upper Saddle River mansion on Hillside Avenue was destroyed.UPPER SADDLE RIVER FIRE DEPT Firefighter…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
UPDATE: Firefighter Charged In Horrific 9W Crash Later Returned To Scene As Responder UPDATE: Firefighter Charged In Horrific 9W Crash Later Returned To Scene As Responder
Update: Firefighter Charged In Horrific 9W Crash Later Returned To Scene As Responder UPDATE: A volunteer firefighter charged in a horrific road-rage crash that nearly killed a fellow group of fellow Bergen County teens earlier this week left the scene and then returned as a responder, authorities said. Luke Stein, 18, who was taken into custody in Colorado on Friday, Oct. 14, became a volunteer firefighter in Alpine and Demarest earlier this year, records show.  He was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee with blue and white emergency lights on the dashboard when he pursued and then deliberately rear-ended the victims' Honda Pilot on Route 9W just after midnight on Monday, Oct. 1…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Firefighter Who Teaches High-Angle Rescue Helps Save Severely Injured Worker In Fair Lawn Tree Firefighter Who Teaches High-Angle Rescue Helps Save Severely Injured Worker In Fair Lawn Tree
Firefighter Who Teaches High-Angle Rescue Helps Save Severely Injured Worker In Fair Lawn Tree A firefighter with just the right experience helped rescue a tree trimmer who was left perilously perched in the air in Fair Lawn after a cut limb from an oak broke his leg, responders said. Firefighters couldn't get to the 42-year-old arborist from Hackensack with an aerial ladder after the mishap left him stranded on an unsteady limb 20 to 30 feet above the backyard of an Ellington Road home shortly before 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 6. They had to use ground ladders and ropes instead. "Coincidentally, while on his way to teach rope rescue for hostage negotiation, off-duty FF Steven Alvarez…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
VIDEO: Fire Crews Kick Down Door To Reach Smoky Blaze Ravaging Morris County Basement VIDEO: Fire Crews Kick Down Door To Reach Smoky Blaze Ravaging Morris County Basement
Video: Fire Crews Kick Down Door To Reach Smoky Blaze Ravaging Morris County Basement The action-packed moment when several Morris County firefighters kicked down a doorway — hoses in hand — to reach and begin extinguishing a smoky basement blaze was captured in a video clip from the department's "helmet cam." The Boonton Fire Department responded to the report of smoke coming from a Mountain Lakes home around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 29, the squad said. Upon arrival, crews confirmed a fire in the basement and with heavy smoke billowing from the garage and the ‘D’ side of the home, the department said. Crews immediately went to work, kicking down the basement door to ga…

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by Valerie Musson
News
House Fire Doused In Teaneck House Fire Doused In Teaneck
House Fire Doused In Teaneck Firefighters doused a house blaze in Teaneck. They were met by heavy flames on the first floor and in the walls of the 2½-story wood-frame home on Downing Street just off Victoria Road shortly before 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4. The main body of the fire was knocked down within 15 minutes. It was declared under control a short time later. Mutual aid responders at the scene or in coverage included firefighters from Bogota, Englewood, Hackensack and Rigefield Park. No injuries were reported. Fire officials were trying to officially determine the cause.

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by Jerry DeMarco