MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY FIRE CAUSES HEAVY DAMAGE TO STORES, 25 PEOPLE DISPLACED IN WIND-INDUCED SUBZERO COLD.
January 31, 2015
MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY – Dozens of firefighters and
emergency-management officials Saturday morning were still on the scene of a
devastating fire that gutted a retail and residential building strip on the
corner of Elm and Morris streets.
No injuries
were reported, but 12 hours after the fire was called in at 82-84-86-88 Elm
Street (at Blachley Place) at 11:14 p.m. Friday, Morristown Fire Chief Robert
Flanagan said at the scene that he was waiting for building officials and a
structural engineer to evaluate the damage.
"You
can see that behind the front facade of the building, the buildings are
collapsed, the two in the center there," he said, referring to Miracle
Hair Salon and Del's Novelty, a family business that has been there since 1949
(see
sidebar story). "He's going to make the determination whether it needs
to be razed over the next day, the next three days or the next week."
Flanagan
said everyone got out safely, and there were no injuries sustained by his crew,
which battled intense cold and winds overnight.
"We
actually rehabbed (the firefighters) every hour and a half or so,"
Flanagan said.
Mayor
Timothy Dougherty also was at the scene Saturday morning, saying he arrived
there shortly after midnight.
"Thank
God everyone got out safely," he said. "Luckily no one was injured
and everybody got out. The fire department did an outstanding job in this cold,
bitter weather."
Saturday
morning, with temperatures below 20 degrees, ice still covered portions of the
building and surrounding structures. Dozens of onlookers navigated slick, icy
sidewalks to view the scene and take photographs.
The
building strip included the shuttered former Sebastian's Steak House, while the
second floor was comprised of residential apartments. Displaced residents initially
were taken by the Red Cross to the nearby Morristown train station to stay
warm.
Saturday
morning, the train station was empty and locked. Police and other town
officials were unsure where the residents had been moved.
The Red Cross
issued a statement Saturday afternoon saying that four members of the Red Cross
Disaster Action Team responded early that morning to help seven families
displaced by the fire.
"Twenty-three
people received Red Cross emergency assistance in the form of temporary
lodging, food and clothing as needed," said Red Cross spokesperson Erica
Viviani, who also was unclear where those people had been lodged.
Dougherty
later issued a statement that non-perishable donations can be dropped off at
the Morristown Fire Bureau, 161 Speedwell Ave., Morristown. Financial donations
also can be made via check or money order made out to the Town of Morristown,
and mailed or delivered to the mayor's office Town Hall, 200 South St.
Morristown
Detective Lt. Stuart Greer said updates would be issued when available.
Overnight
response
Greer
issued a statement at 3:25 a.m. that said freezing temperatures and strong
winds were hampering firefighting efforts. At 4:15 a.m., firefighters were
dousing the rooftops but heavy smoke was still visible while the streets and
sidewalks were encrusted with ice from the water sprays.
Frank
Manniello, disaster services volunteer for the American Red Cross, was on scene
at the Morristown train station, which was opened as a warming center for displaced
families. Manniello said no residents were injured and the Red Cross is helping
about 25 displaced people.
Some live
in apartments above businesses at 82-84-86-88 Elm Street, where the fire
occurred. Others, including 18-year-old Yin Ho and her family, were displaced
because utilities were turned off in their building that houses Malay, a
Malaysian restaurant at 147 Morris St.
At 4:30
a.m. Saturday, Ho sat beside her father and sister on benches at the train
station while her 9-year-old niece tried to sleep on another bench.
"I
spent the night walking around in here and on my phone," Ho said.
Greer said
that officers responding to a 911 call at 11:14 p.m. saw smoke at the rear of
buildings from 82 to 88 Elm Street.
