5-Alarm Union County Easter Fire Displaces 26, Injures Firefighters

ELIZABETH, NJ - Two firefighters and seven families were displaced during an Easter Sunday residential fire in Elizabeth, authorities said.

The five-alarm fire was reported on the 100 block of Jacques Street at around 6 p.m., according to a statement from the local Elizabeth firefighters union.

At the scene, firefighters found a vacant 2.5-story house “fully involved” on all floors, fire officials said. The blaze eventually extended to five homes and caused a collapse in two buildings.

No civilian injuries were reported, fire officials said; two firefighters were taken to the hospital with injuries. The severity of the firefighters’ injuries was not immediately made clear.

The New Jersey Red Cross assisted 26 people from seven families with emergency assistance for temporary lodging, food and clothing needs, the organization said in a statement Sunday night.

One witness told ABC7 that the fire broke out in the ruins of an abandoned home that burned down in 2022. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

An earlier single-alarm house fire on Magnolia Avenue in Elizabeth displaced eight people in two families.