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Police & Fire
Fugitives In 7-Hour SWAT Hotel Standoff Had Dead Hand Grenade, 8 Loaded Guns, $36K, Police Say Fugitives In 7-Hour SWAT Hotel Standoff Had Dead Hand Grenade, 8 Loaded Guns, $36K, Police Say
Fugitives In 7-Hour SWAT Hotel Standoff Had Dead Hand Grenade, 8 Loaded Guns, $36K, Police Say A pair of fugitives were busted with a dead hand grenade, eight loaded weapons, more than $36,000 in cash, drugs and more during a 7-hour standoff that evacuated a North Jersey hotel Sunday night, authorities said Monday. Rahim Harris, 42, of Newark, and  Haneefha S. White, 39, of Johnstowns, PA, were arrested after a more than 7-hour standoff at the Extended Stay Hotel on Plaza Drive, Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller said. Police received a tip around 7 p.m. saying that Harris -- who had been wanted out of Essex County on charges of aggravated assault -- was staying at the hotel.&n…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
SWAT STANDOFF: Hackensack Man, 80, Armed With Rifle Subdued SWAT STANDOFF: Hackensack Man, 80, Armed With Rifle Subdued
SWAT Standoff: Hackensack Man, 80, Armed With Rifle Subdued UPDATE: An hours-long standoff with an 80-year-old Hackensack man armed with a rifle ended just after midnight Friday when a SWAT team burst into his apartment and took him into custody. In a tragic twist, a fellow building resident who had terminal cancer died during the incident, forcing the Bergen County Medical Examiner to wait to remove the body until the situation was resolved. It began after an out-of-state family member called and said an elderly tenant  at Harry Berkie Gardens had  "threatened to shoot anyone who came to his apartment," Capt. Darren DeWitt said. Three ci…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Route 46 Walmart Mall Cleared, Homes Evacuated For Hours After Snow Plow Ruptures Propane Tank Route 46 Walmart Mall Cleared, Homes Evacuated For Hours After Snow Plow Ruptures Propane Tank
Route 46 Walmart Mall Cleared, Homes Evacuated For Hours After Snow Plow Ruptures Propane Tank UPDATE: More than a dozen families weren’t able to return to their homes until after 4 a.m. Saturday following a propane tank rupture that cleared a large Route 46 shopping center in Saddle Brook. A bucket loader clearing snow hit the exposed feeder neck of the underground tank shortly after 8:30 p.m. Friday, triggering a mass response and the evacuation of a Walmart and other stores and homes in and around the Saddle Brook Mall, Police Chief Robert Kugler said. “Due to the large leak and the unknown size of the tanks, there’s a chance of explosion,” Kugler said. “So the entire mall was ev…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
GREAT STOP: Hasbrouck Heights Garage Fire Doused GREAT STOP: Hasbrouck Heights Garage Fire Doused
Great Stop: Hasbrouck Heights Garage Fire Doused A residential garage fire right next to a Hasbrouck Heights gas station prompted temporary evacuations Thursday afternoon. Concerns were raised over possible propane tanks igniting, but borough firefighters doused the blaze in minutes. The fire broke out shortly before 4:30 p.m.in the detached Williams Avenue garage off Boulevard, in a mixed-use area of businesses, apartments and single-family homes. Mutual aid responders included a Wallington FAST team. Firefighters were concerned about propane tanks and possible damage to surrounding structures.Jo Fehl for DAILY VOICE Hasbrouck H…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
ALL CLEAR: Suspicious Devices Found In Fort Lee Were Discarded Household Items ALL CLEAR: Suspicious Devices Found In Fort Lee Were Discarded Household Items
ALL Clear: Suspicious Devices Found In Fort Lee Were Discarded Household Items UPDATE: What at first were considered suspicious devices found in Fort Lee on Wednesday turned out to be a pressure cooker and other discarded household items, authorities said. Police were called around 11:40 a.m. after a cooker was found atop a newspaper box near a bus stop on Anderson Avenue near Forest Road, Capt. Ricky Mirkovic said. "Other suspicious devices were located in the area of Anderson Avenue / 16th Street and in the area of 1365 16th Street" in the same vicinity, Mirkovic said. The busy area is near the local community center, borough offices and several stores and shops, a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Mall At Short Hills Evacuated Due To Water Main Break Mall At Short Hills Evacuated Due To Water Main Break
Mall At Short Hills Evacuated Due To Water Main Break The Mall at Short Hills was evacuated Monday afternoon due to a water main break underneath the sprawling shopping complex, the business said in a statement.  The mall also said it was "assessing" the situation and may reopen later today, but in a subsequent statement said it would remain closed Monday. The mall is expected to reopen on time Tuesday.  Messages for mall management were not immediately returned. A spokesperson for the Millburn police department was not immediately available.  A staffer at the mall said a manager was speaking to the fire marshal regarding the situation.  Pho…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Man Charged With Setting Series Of Fires In Linden UPDATE: Man Charged With Setting Series Of Fires In Linden
Update: Man Charged With Setting Series Of Fires In Linden UPDATE, Aug. 1: A Roselle man has been charged with setting the fires. Click here for more.  Original story is below:  Firefighters in Linden and neighboring towns handled a string of fires Thursday night that police say appear to be suspicious.  No one was hurt in any of the fires.  The first in the series of blazes occurred at 809 N. Wood Ave. around 10 p.m., said Lt. Christopher Guenther of the Linden Police Department. The building was unoccupied, but police said neighbors were evacuated safely as a precaution.  An empty house on Seymour Avenue went up n…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Bomb Note Discovered, Wallington Bowling Alley Evacuated Bomb Note Discovered, Wallington Bowling Alley Evacuated
Bomb Note Discovered, Wallington Bowling Alley Evacuated UPDATE: "I've left a bomb somewhere," read a note that ended up clearing a Wallington bowling alley and bringing in tactical units. A cook found the note, written in black marker, behind a urinal pipe next to a stall in the men's bathroom at Bowlero just before 10 p.m. Saturday, Capt. Shawn Kudlacik said. The business was evacuated and Paterson Avenue briefly closed down. The Bergen County Sheriff's Bomb Squad and K-9 Unit swept the building without finding anything, eventually allowing patrons and employees to return, Kudlacik said. Detectives checked surveillance cameras and interviewed…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Residents Evacuated When Elizabeth Building Begins To Collapse Residents Evacuated When Elizabeth Building Begins To Collapse
Residents Evacuated When Elizabeth Building Begins To Collapse Firefighters in Elizabeth were called into action when a building in the city started to collapse Wednesday, the department said in a statement.  A vacant lot next door to 245 Union St. was being excavated when one side of the three-story, multi-family building began to crumble. A large crack formed on the side nearest the lot and pieces of the structure began to slide off,. according to photos from the scene.  Deputy 3, Battalion 3 and Battalion 5, as well as Elizabeth police, helped evacuate the building and to establish a collapse zone.  There were no reported injuries.&n…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Evacuations Ordered After Struck Canister Releases 'Vapor Cloud' Near Hawthorne Ballfield Evacuations Ordered After Struck Canister Releases 'Vapor Cloud' Near Hawthorne Ballfield
Evacuations Ordered After Struck Canister Releases 'Vapor Cloud' Near Hawthorne Ballfield A "vapor cloud" released when a work crew accidentally punctured a buried canister containing a volatile chemical near a Hawthorne ballfield on Thursday. More than three dozen people were evacuated from nearby homes and businesses while the state DEP recovered the canister, which contained Methyltrichlorosilane, in an auxiliary parking lot, police Detective Sgt. Matthew Hoogmoed said. The chemical, which is "highly flammable and reacts violently with water," Hoogmoed said. "After the canister was punctured, it spilled a yellow tinted fluid into the dirt and a vapor cloud was released," th…

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by Jerry DeMarco