A fire with five alarms engulfed four homes in Elizabeth on Sunday afternoon, displacing at least 30 people and destroying three homes.
The fire was reported at 3:30 p.m. on the 100th block of Smith Street, Ruby Contreras, an Elizabeth City spokeswoman, said.
The fire quickly intensified due to wind gusts between 15 and 39 mph, resulting in a second alert at 3:37 pm and a third alert at 3:40 pm. For each alarm, a certain number of firefighters and equipment arrive at the scene.
Firefighters fought the blaze in low temperatures that felt around 25 degrees with wind.
Footage from the scene shows the flames, picked up by the wind, engulfing one of the collapsed houses.
“A total of four houses caught fire and three were completely destroyed,” Contreras said.
Although there was no visible fire around 6 p.m., the fire was still smoldering, she said, “but there is still a lot of smoke.”
Dark plumes of smoke were visible from nearby highways rising from the area between Highways 1 and 9 and the New Jersey Freeway.
The houses were searched, but no occupants were found, Contreras said. However, Elizabeth’s firefighters needed a drone with thermal imaging capabilities.
“About 25-30 people need to be relocated,” she said. “The cause of the fire has not been determined at this time.”
According to her, two firefighters received medical treatment on the spot for smoke poisoning, but were acquitted and returned to their duties.
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Larry Higgs can be contacted at [email protected].