6 Injured In Perth Amboy House Fire During July 4th Celebration

PERTH AMBOY, NJ — Six people were injured, one seriously, when a fire rapidly spread through a Victorian home converted into apartments on Water Street Wednesday evening in Perth Amboy.

What exactly caused the fire has still not been determined, said the Perth Amboy Fire Department. The fire broke out at 5:23 p.m., and "was rapidly fueled by strong winds from the waterfront, causing it to spread quickly throughout the entire structure," said the Perth Amboy Fire Department.

Six people in total were injured, four civilians and two police officers. Four people were trapped on the second and third floors in the rear of the building, and they were rescued by police officers. One person, a man, suffered serious respiratory burns and was kept for two days in a hospital. He was released Friday, said Perth Amboy Fire Chief Edward Mullen.

"The two police officers were treated for smoke inhalation and released," he said.

The building started collapsing and it took firefighters more than five hours to put it out. Firefighters from the Hopelawn Fire Department in Woodbridge were called in for mutual aid.

The home is located directly across the street from where a band was playing for the city's Independence Day celebration. However:

"We have no reason to believe this had anything to do with fireworks. We have witness statements from the scene and lots of witness video," said Mullen. "There is no indication fireworks caused this."

He said the fire started while the band was playing on stage, and the city's fireworks were not even in the area: At the time of the fire, the city's fireworks were being loaded onto a barge in an industrial area about a mile away, to be taken out into Raritan Bay and launched from the bay.

"The band stopped playing when the fire happened, and later resumed," he said. "The fireworks went off as planned after 9 p.m."

The cause of the fire is currently undetermined. We urge anyone with video footage of the incident to contact the Perth Amboy Fire Investigation Unit at (732) 324-3500 or the Perth Amboy Police Department at 732-442-4400