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No injuries were reported in the Beech Street blaze, city Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said.
The Red Cross provided temporary shelter, food and clothing to the displaced.
Fire officials who responded to the fire around 8:45 p.m. immediately called in a second alarm.
What followed:
- In barely 10 minutes, three houses were involved and a third alarm was transmitted;
- A fourth alarm went out almost immediately after that, as the fire spread to four houses;
- The fire spread to two more by 9:30 p.m., followed by a fifth alarm;
- The sixth alarm was sounded about 15 minutes later (fire officials at the scene reported it was the equivalent of seven “bells”);
- What had been a defensive operation went offensive shortly after 10:30 p.m.
The fire was declared under control around midnight, more than three hours after it began.
A cause wasn’t immediately determined.
Assisting their Paterson colleagues were firefighters from Bloomingdale, Clifton, Fair Lawn, Haledon, Hawthorne, Little Falls, North Haledon, Passaic, Prospect Park, Ringwood, Totowa, Wayne and Wanaque and the West Paterson Fire Department.
"In addition to saluting our first responders, I commend the other fire departments in the area who responded to our call for mutual aid," Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh said.
His concern, he said, were the displaced residents.
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ALSO SEE: Paterson detectives found two men and a 16-year-old boy each carrying semi-automatic handguns barely a few hours apart, authorities said Sunday.
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