More Than 40 N.J. Firefighters Hurt Battling Blaze

July 19,2013; 9:31PM,EDT

 

 

The battle to halt a four-alarm fire Friday afternoon in Jersey City, N.J., caused more than 40 firefighters to be treated for heat-related and other injuries, officials said.
A fire was reported on Boyd Street in the western part of the city around 12:20 p.m. Friday, Jersey City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said. The fire quickly escalated to four alarms with two other buildings affected by the blaze.
Twenty-two Jersey City firefighters were taken to Jersey City Medical Center, mostly for heat injuries, Morrill said. Two firefighters, one each from Bayonne and North Hudson Regional fire departments, were also taken to the hospital.
Two Jersey City firefighters hug after they helped battle a four-alarm fire, Friday, July 19, 2013, in Jersey City, N.J. Jersey City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill says nine firefighters suffered heat exhaustion and one had an ankle injury. The cause has not yet been determined. The fire was reported around 12:30 p.m. Friday as temperatures in the region reached the high 90s. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Temperatures at the time of the fire were around 100 degrees with an AccuWeather RealFeel® temperature of 104 degrees, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Samuhel said.
"It was intense heat and humidity," Samuhel said. "The temperatures were about the same as Thursday, but the humidity is higher and feels more unbearable."
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Thirty other firefighters were treated at the scene, Jersey City Medical Center spokesman Dave Robson told The Jersey Journal.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Morrill said late Friday afternoon.
Thumbnail photo by The Associated Press