Two Maplewood families are unable to return to their homes after they were damaged by fire on Saturday night.
The Maplewood Fire Department — aided by several other area departments — was able to bring the two-family house fire on Ostwood Terrace under control in just over 90 minutes. However, the fire, which began in a first-floor bedroom, traveled through the second floor and to the roof, rendering the home uninhabitable.
There were no reported injuries to residents or firefighters.
According to a release from the Maplewood Fire Department, firefighters were dispatched to the fire on Ostwood Terrace, near the Union border, around 6:15 p.m. on October 15.
“Engine 32, responding from a fire station less than one mile away, reported a large column of black smoke as they were leaving,” read the release. “Upon arrival, they found heavy fire on the first floor in the rear of the home extending to the second floor and impinging on the houses on either side.”
All occupants were reported to be out of the house and accounted for.
The heavy volume of fire necessitated a second alarm, bringing in mutual aid companies from Irvington, Millburn, South Orange and Union. MFD report that “an aggressive fire attack by first-arriving companies prevented the fire from extending to the adjacent homes, although there was damage sustained to the siding and windows of both.”
Ultimately the fire went to a third alarm, bringing in West Orange, East Orange and Bloomfield fire departments, plus an air unit from Newark to refill air bottles. Fire departments from Belleville, Montclair and Cedar Grove provided coverage for the Maplewood during the incident.
The South Orange Rescue Squad also responded to the scene.
The home was deemed uninhabitable, and the Red Cross is finding temporary housing for the two families that have been displaced.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation but appears to have started in a first-floor bedroom, according to the Maplewood Fire Department.
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