I don’t usually go out looking for the latest news stories or get on a scene quickly, but I happened to live around the corner from this latest tragedy in Hoboken.
My wife smelled a fire, even though I questioned it multiple times, and we eventually went outside and saw what turned into a major blaze around the corner from us in Hoboken.
First off, we heard everyone got out from various officers we asked, though we’re waiting to see if there was any update. I’ve never seen anything like this, how the fire crawled up the building, at various points we thought it was out. Then it just grew out of control. We shop at the small grocery store there all the time, and it was so sad to see the owner out front watching. 4 years ago when we moved here, a major fire hit 1 block in the other direction, took out the building as well. I can’t imagine this building will stay up, but still, as long as the firefighters and people are all ok.
UPDATE 2/20:
I went out today to see the aftermath and discovered that the fire was still going. Again, in awe of the whole thing.
I asked the firemen what was happening. I was told that these old buildings have so many voids in them, things like ducts and dumbwaiters, that allow the fire to shoot up quickly. Once it’s in the walls, it’s extremely hard to contain.
I was out from around 9am-12pm and they were still dealing with it. Such an awful sight and I hope no one ever has to experience something like this firsthand.
Here are the links to the full galleries:
Fire:
Aftermath:
If you write a blog or news story and need to use these Hoboken fire photos editorially, you’re welcome to use them. Just do NOT edit the watermark so I can retain credit. A link to my site or gallery is preferred as well.
I have no interest in selling them. These are not to be resold in any fashion since they are still my copyright. I’d prefer you send your money to the victims of the fire instead. Thank you.
A few of them appear below:
EDIT: Video added after I was interviewed by WMBC-TV:
