Fire Department Believes Squatters May be the Cause of Suydam Street Fire

A Wednesday morning fire that burned multiple structures on Suydam Street may have been caused by squatters, New Brunswick Fire Department Director Robert Rawls said Wednesday night.

At Wednesday's city council meeting, Rawls said that the official cause of the fire was still being investigated, but some signs suggest the fire may have been started by people sheltering in two of the vacant homes that were affected.

"(Vacant homes) are prime real estate for squatters at this time of year," he said. 

Early Wednesday morning, firefighters responded to a fire at 326 Suydam St. that quickly spread to a three-alarm fire and reached three other homes on Suydam Street and Railroad Avenue.

Rawls said that two of the homes that caught were unoccupied. One was the site of a prior April fire. 

A total of 22 people were displaced as a result of the fire, but no injuries were reported to tenants. One firefighter sustained minor injuries to his hands while fighting the fire, Deputy Chief Kevin McCann said Wednesday.  

An unrelated fire earlier this week on Seaman Street was ruled to be accidental, Rawls said.