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BY BOB HOLT
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
About 11 firefighters were injured and one cat died in a three-alarm fire in a Passaic home on Tuesday. The efforts of the firefighters in extinguishing the blaze were severely hindered because the home was filled with mountains of hoarded items.
NorthJersey.com reported that as many as seven of the firefighters suffered pulled shoulders and sore backs from throwing debris out the windows to see that the fire would not start again, according to Fire Chief Patrick Trentacost. Another man had back and leg pain after falling over debris.
The Asbury Park Press reported that the homeowner was transported to St. Mary’s Hospital, where she was treated and released for smoke inhalation.
The fire appeared to have started in the basement, and became a two-alarm fire because first-arriving firefighters could not gain access through the front door because of the extreme clutter. The fire even took in a gas meter at one point before the utility company shut off gas and electricity. Firefighters then called a third alarm.
Firefighters face extreme danger when operating at homes filled with piles of clutter. According to fireengineering.com, the excess debris adds fuel to a fire, and the resulting conditions can prevent firefighters from reaching and moving fire victims, operating hoselines properly, and they could end up trapped by the clutter.
Trentacost called the house “a horrible case of hoarding.” He said, “Each floor was worse than the others … I don’t know how anybody could have lived in that house.”
