Update: Residents Allowed Back into Prospect St. Building After Fire

South Orange firefighters responded to a call around 8 a.m. Friday of a fire in a fifth floor laundry room of a large apartment building at 18 Prospect St.

Fire Department radio reported that the flames in the laundry room were extinguished by 8:30, but firefighters checked to see if the fire had spread through the wall to other floors.

Fire officials say they have no reports of any injuries, and residents are now being allowed back into the building. But they said the building suffered a lot of water damage.

The Maplewood, East Orange and Orange fire departments were also helping out, and the South Orange Rescue Squad was on the scene.

According to Fire Chief Jeff Markey, utilities to the building were subsequently shut down. There was fire damage to the fifth-floor laundry room, where the fire started, and apartment 5D, as well as the underside of the roof in the area of the fire. There was smoke damage to the remainder of the fifth floor and water damage on all other floors.

Due to the extent of electrical and plumbing damage from the fire, the building was determined to be uninhabitable, according to Markey. The Building Department was notified to respond.

There are 25 units in the building, and 20 residents were at home at the time of the fire, but none were harmed. The Red Cross was notified to assist residents with relocation until the building can be reoccupied.

The fire has been ruled accidental, but the cause is still undetermined. Electrical malfunction or failure could not be ruled out, according to Markey.  

"We're not sleeping there tonight, probably not for two nights," said Vicky, the first resident of 18 Prospect to return to the building.

Chief Markey had briefed the residents, most of whom gathered on Prospect Street awaiting news. Clutching cell phones, many still dressed in pajamas, and one holding a cat in a carrier, the residents gathered around to learn that, while the fire was out quickly, there was "a lot of water damage."

Vicky was the first permitted into the building. Her two small children needed a change of clothes, she explained to Patch, and she was escorted to her unit. There she found water seeping through a ceiling.

The fire apparently began in the fifth-floor laundry room. One resident said he was alerted by the building's alarm. He didn't react, first thinking it was a false alarm. "Then an officer banged on my door," he recalled.

Another resident described himself as being in a "deep, deep sleep," when he heard banging on the door. "I grabbed clothes," he said, and reported that firefighters broke down his door. "There was a lot of smoke."

Another resident speculated that the D side of the building, where the D units are located, sustained the most damage. He further explained that many residents of the building have "health issues." He also reported—though this is unverified—that one resident was unable to leave the building due to health concerns. His understanding was that a firefighter went into her unit and stayed with her throughout the event.

By 9:30, electricity and gas had been turned off and PSE&G personnel were touring the building. Residents reacted with dismay when they heard first reports of water damage. Chief Markey gathered the residents again, and explained that he had called for Red Cross assistance.

Residents began making calls to family and friends, making arrangements for what Vicky suggested would be a two-night stay away from home.