Two Fires Quickly Brought Under Control in Teaneck

Teaneck firefighters were called to two fires less than ten minutes apart Tuesday, one in a Cedar Lane apartment without working smoke detectors, according to the fire chief.

Firefighters responded to a report of a stove fire at a house on Northumberland Road at 5:45 p.m. The fire was out when crews arrived, but firefighters used a thermal imaging camera to make sure the flames had not spread in the kitchen.

While at that call, the fire department was dispatched to a report of something burning at a large apartment complex next to Fire Station 2 on Cedar Lane, Chief Anthony Verley said. Crews arrived to find a smoldering fire in an apartment and had to cut open a nearby area to check if any flames had spread.

The fire was under control nine minutes after the first units arrived, Verley said. All on-duty Teaneck fire companies worked to bring it under control.

“The cause was undersized electrical wires that were overloaded due to multiple items being plugged in,” the chief said in an email. “The wires were also covered by other items in the apartment that caused them to heat up, break down and burn.”

Fire officials have issued numerous safety warnings after responding to fires where homes had no working smoke detectors. Officials said the apartment fire was only reported when the resident came home and smelled smoke.

“Had the resident not come home at that time the fire would have been much worse. The entire apartment or building might have suffered fire damage,” Verley said.

The has also cautioned residents about the dangers of overloading extension cords.

“Electrical extension cords are for temporary use only and are very dangerous if they are allowed to be continuously plugged in,” Battalion Chief Joseph Berchtold, who responded to both fires, said in a statement.

Even as firefighters were heading back to the station, another fire was reported at the Courts of Glenpointe but tuned out to be a false alarm. The Englewood Fire Department sent an engine company to stand by for backup.

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