Dramatic footage shows the moment New Jersey firefighters rush through a third-story window to rescue a woman inside as an inferno ripped through the building Saturday.
The blaze raged in the downtown of South Orange and stretched to at least a pair of mixed-use buildings as a plume of smoke streamed from the commercial-residential structures, the footage showed.
A woman calls for help amid an inferno in New Jersey. @_jeremykovacsAt one point, a woman on the top floor in one of the buildings could be seen leaning out the window, calling for help as a truck ladder was moved to reach her, according to video obtained by The Post.
“Like that person needs to get the f–k out of that building,” a witness could be heard saying.
The woman then closed the window, but firefighters minutes later opened it up again and went inside, video shows.
By the time first responders entered, she had fled on her own, said South Essex Fire Department Deputy Chief of Operations Chris Ariemma
“We did make entry into the apartment and the guys searched and when they finished their search, she wasn’t there,” he told The Post on Sunday. “She got herself out before we did.”
South Orange Mayor Sheena Collum said in a social media post no injuries were reported and all firefighters had been accounted for.
Firefighters used ladders to reach the top floor. @_jeremykovacsOther video clips shows firefighters breaking separate top-floor windows to vent smoke across the two buildings that housed businesses on the ground level.
Bystander Jeremy Kovacs, who captured the harrowing footage, told The Post that he was walking to get an iced coffee at a local diner when he saw smoke and flames coming from the building’s roof.
“It was pretty crazy,” the 41-year-old South Orange local said. “I’ve never seen a fire like that.”
The building at 51 E. South Orange Avenue had the most fire while the neighboring building, where the woman was located, only had flames in the back, along with smoke and heat damage, said Ariemma, the deputy chief.
A bystander said he had never seen a fire like the one on Saturday. @_jeremykovacsThe fire took more than two hours to put out with the help of 50 firefighters from South Essex and other departments.
Other video from Jersey Shore Fire Response showed firefighters aim hoses at the top of the building as flames shot out of it.
Emergency crews closed the area to traffic for hours while they managed the fire that was out by the early evening.
The cause of the blaze is not yet determined.
