Mostly Cloudy 56°
Police & Fire
PHOTOS: Fierce Fire Roars Through Three Passaic Homes, Displacing Dozens PHOTOS: Fierce Fire Roars Through Three Passaic Homes, Displacing Dozens
Photos: Fierce Fire Roars Through Three Passaic Homes, Displacing Dozens An off-duty firefighter alerted residents to a gas-fed blaze that ravaged three homes Saturday morning in Passaic, displacing nearly three dozen people. More than 120 firefighters responded to the fierce four-alarm blaze, which roared across the multi-family dwellings on Oak Street after breaking out shortly after 8 a.m., responders said. An off-duty firefighter helped get the buildings evacuated, Fire Chief Patrick Trentacost said "There was a tremendous amount of fire through [two of ] the buildings, with a partial collapse," Trentacost said. Definitely one (middle) and possibly two…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Distraught Boy, 17, Drowns In Passaic River After Officers Dive In To Try And Rescue Him Distraught Boy, 17, Drowns In Passaic River After Officers Dive In To Try And Rescue Him
Distraught Boy, 17, Drowns In Passaic River After Officers Dive In To Try And Rescue Him A distraught 17-year-old boy drowned in the Passaic River Friday night after he jumped off a bridge between Passaic and Wallington, authorities said. The Lakeview Learning Center student jumped off the Market Street bridge in front of his father shortly before 6:30 p.m., responders said. Two city police officers, showing no regard for their own safety, jumped right in after him. "We were trying to help him," a ranking officer told Daily Voice. "He jumped in, so we went in to try and rescue him. It's such a tragedy." Sgt. Robert Cancel and Officer Paul Zapata waded through waist-high mud …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Body Pulled From Passaic River Body Pulled From Passaic River
Body Pulled From Passaic River Responders recovered a man's body from the Passaic River Wednesday afternoon. Passaic police notified surrounding agents of the body first seen floating south of the Monroe Street Bridge around 4 p.m., Garfield Police Chief Raymond Kovach said. Garfield and Passaic police were among the initial responders. Garfield Fire Department's Marine 3 Unit launched from Wallington for the recovery, Kovach said. The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office was investigating with Garfield police, the chief said. The Bergen County Sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Identification collected evidence. Last week, a…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
New Brunswick Woman Kidnapped, Beaten: Guatemalan National Captured, Jailed in Bergen New Brunswick Woman Kidnapped, Beaten: Guatemalan National Captured, Jailed in Bergen
New Brunswick Woman Kidnapped, Beaten: Guatemalan National Captured, Jailed in Bergen A Guatemalan national abducted his ex-girlfriend in New Brunswick, beat and tried to choke her and then stole her cellphone before dumping her in Wallington, authorities said. A good Samaritan flagged down a passing Wallington police officer, who found the frantic woman at the 7-Eleven on Main Avenue speaking only Spanish, Capt. Shawn Kudlacik said. A Passaic police officer responded to translate for the 38-year-old victim, who told police that Miguel Anton Perez, 47, grabbed her by the hair and dragged her into his car in New Brunswick. Perez “punched her in the back and put his hands aro…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Eight Firefighters Hospitalized In Passaic Blaze Eight Firefighters Hospitalized In Passaic Blaze
Eight Firefighters Hospitalized In Passaic Blaze Eight firefighters were hospitalized with heat exhaustion Monday after rescuing 20 or so residents – several of whom were trapped – during a roaring Monday afternoon blaze that ravaged two homes and damaged others in Passaic. Seven of the firefighters are from the city and the eighth is from Wallington, Passaic Mayor Hector Carlos Lora said. None of the injuries was considered life-threatening, he said. Firefighters rescued five people from two of the Passaic Street homes and got 15 out of another after the blaze broke out around 2 p.m. at 74 Passaic Street, the mayor said. Flames raced th…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Police: Stolen Car Driver Surrenders, Then Attacks Wallington Officers Police: Stolen Car Driver Surrenders, Then Attacks Wallington Officers
Police: Stolen Car Driver Surrenders, Then Attacks Wallington Officers A Newark woman caught behind the wheel of a stolen car urged police to arrest her, then later turned on the officers, authorities in Wallington said. It began when a witness at the Sunoco station on Locust Avenue pointed Officer Szymon Popek toward a rental car with heavy front-end damage, Capt. Shawn Kudlacik said. The driver, identified as Jasmine Fletcher, 27, of Newark, got out of the vehicle after Popek stopped her moments later, Kudlacik said. She had her hands up, telling him and backup officers to arrest her, the captain said. Fletcher “appeared incoherent, saying that she was rob…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
PHOTOS: Firefighters Rescue Mother, Child From Burning Passaic Building PHOTOS: Firefighters Rescue Mother, Child From Burning Passaic Building
Photos: Firefighters Rescue Mother, Child From Burning Passaic Building Firefighters rescued a 4-year-old girl and her mother from a burning Passaic building Monday afternoon. A bystander spotted both of them at a third-floor window above a restaurant at the corner of Dayton Avenue and President Street after arriving shortly before 2:30 p.m., Mayor Hector Carlos Lora told Daily Voice. The mother went to another while the girl waved her hands to get firefighters' attention, witnesses said. Firefighter Ricardo Figueroa climbed a ground ladder and carried the girl down with help from Deputy Chief Chris DiBella, Lora said. Meanwhile, Trentacost redirected a 35-f…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Firefighters Douse Destructive Passaic Blaze While Battling Water Issues Firefighters Douse Destructive Passaic Blaze While Battling Water Issues
Firefighters Douse Destructive Passaic Blaze While Battling Water Issues UPDATE: Water supply issues and downed power lines made things even more difficult Thursday morning for firefighters who doused a blaze that destroyed a Passaic home. Nine people were displaced in the Pennington Avenue fire, city officials said. No serious injuries were immediately reported. City firefighters found the porch of the 2½-story, wood-frame home fully involved when they arrived shortly after 8:30 a.m. Mutual aid companies found several dry hydrants as the fast-moving fire, which began at two alarms, quickly went to three bells and then four. The blaze forced firefighters to m…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
17 People, Three Dogs, Cat Flee Three-Home Passaic Fire 17 People, Three Dogs, Cat Flee Three-Home Passaic Fire
17 People, Three Dogs, Cat Flee Three-Home Passaic Fire Fire destroyed a Passaic home and damaged two others on Palm Sunday, displacing four families, including three dogs and a cat. EMTs treated a couple of firefighters at the scene, authorities said. No other injuries were reported. Firefighters found the first and second floors of the middle Summer Street home fully engulfed before the three-alarm blaze blew through the roof and spread to the adjoining homes. All 17 residents and pets got out safely -- among them, several children who fled in their socks, as well as three dogs and one cat, Mayor Hector Carlos Lora said. "The proximity of s…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Dive Teams Search Passaic River For Evidence In Investigation Dive Teams Search Passaic River For Evidence In Investigation
Dive Teams Search Passaic River For Evidence In Investigation Dive teams were searching the bottom of the Passaic River Wednesday morning. Members of a Bergen County regional SCUBA task force responded to the area behind the Memorial Pool in Fair Lawn for an evidence search that the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office scheduled earlier this week. What they were searching for wasn't immediately disclosed, although a source with knowledge of the investigation said there's a Monmouth County connection. Among the responders were teams from Lyndhurst, Mahwah, Wallington and Wyckoff, as well as the Fair Lawn Rescue Squad and Parsippany's Rockaway Neck Volun…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Business
These Bergen County Restaurants Have Special Family Deals These Bergen County Restaurants Have Special Family Deals
These Bergen County Restaurants Have Special Family Deals Takeout and delivery are your options when it comes to New Jersey restaurants for the next several weeks. Many places are offering special deals as the state works to stop the spread of coronavirus. Here are some local businesses offering special deals who you can support during this time (email clevine@dailyvoice.com with restaurant tips). Click here for a list of restaurants in Union, Essex, Somerset, Passaic, Morris and Sussex, Warren and Hunterdon counties. Taverna Mykonos, Elmwood Park: 10 percent off all pick-ups and delivery orders plus free dessert. Salumi Kitchen, Lodi: Fou…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
HERO: Wallington Police Chief Nabs Armed Bandit In $2,000 Gas Station Robbery HERO: Wallington Police Chief Nabs Armed Bandit In $2,000 Gas Station Robbery
Hero: Wallington Police Chief Nabs Armed Bandit In $2,000 Gas Station Robbery Wallington Police Chief Carmello Imbruglia captured an Elmwood Park man who'd just pistol-whipped a gas station attendant during a $2,000 robbery, authorities said. Imbruglia was among several officers who responded to a call at the Delta Station on Wallington Avenue around 4 p.m. Thursday. He grabbed Andrew Rehan, 22, near the intersection of Anderson Avenue and Lester Street as other officers searched for the second robber. Police found Rehan carrying a pellet gun that resembled the real thing in the waistband of his sweatpants. The attendant, who was struck with the gun during the ho…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco