Fire on Stuyvesant StreetCapt. Joseph Sarnoski, Sgt. Christopher Valiante and Officer Kevin Breslin were first at the scene and tried to get into the apartment on their hands and knees but were forced out due to the heavy black smoke inside the building.
The Lyndhurst Fire Department arrived on scene by then and conducted a search of the apartment. It was unoccupied, according to police reports.
A second floor tenant told the officers that she was forced to jump out her kitchen window to safety. The 27-year-old woman said that after hearing the fire alarm sounding, she opened her apartment door to vacate the building but was met by billowing smoke in the hallway. The woman immediately closed her apartment door but was forced to the window as her apartment began to fill with smoke. The victim then jumped out the second floor window to safety.
The woman complained of pain in her legs and buttocks. She was treated at the scene by the Lyndhurst Police Emergency Squad emergency medical team, reports said.
However, the victim of the fire declined transportation to the hospital.
Two cats were also rescued from the fire scene. One was administered oxygen by the patrolmen and transported to Veterinary Emergency Services on Ridge Road, while the other was brought to the Rutherford Animal Hospital
Both cats were treated and released to the building manager.
The fire was extinguished with haste by the firefighters. The cause of the fire was an electric coffee maker left unattended on the counter top within the apartment, according to police reports.
As of press time, the tenants were not permitted to return back to their apartments until repairs to code are made to the building as per the Lyndhurst Building Department standards.
Worker accident
A police unit was dispatched to Cambridge Pavers, 1 Jerome Avenue, on Tuesday March 18, 10:35 a.m., on a report of an injury to a worker. The officers found a 42-year-old man who worked there, who conscious and alert, police reports said.The victim his right hand had been pulled into a tumbler (a large piece of machinery) while on the job but he was freed himself prior to police arrival. The worker was wearing a heavy work glove at the time of the accident and sustained severe injury to his right hand and fingers, as well as bruising to his arm.
Lyndhurst Emergency Medical Service and paramedics treated the victim and then transported him to Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack.
Lyndhurst police department notified OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) about the accident. As of press time, the injured man is listed in stable condition, they said.
