UPDATE: Paterson Blaze Destroys 3 Homes, Displaces Dozens

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — A six-alarm fire burned through four Paterson homes early Tuesday morning, displacing dozens of residents and injuring firefighters.

The fire began at a Summer Street home at about 1:30 a.m., Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale Jr. said in a statement.

Three homes were destroyed and a fourth was heavily damaged, Speziale said.

Forty-eight residents were displaced. The American Red Cross and the Paterson Police Department were working to relocate those people.

An American Red Cross spokesperson said the organization was accepting donations to help displaced families.

No residents were injured, but six firefighters were taken to St. Joseph's Medical Center for exhaustion and dehydration, Speziale said.

Authorities do not know what caused the fire. Investigators from the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office were at the scene Tuesday morning investigating.

Paterson Fire Department personnel are reviewing the structural integrity of the buildings.

Firefighters from every Paterson firehouse and others from local towns worked to keep the fire from spreading.

Click here to make a donation to the Red Cross.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com