(10/27/06) EAST ORANGE ? Residents say a frightening late-night fire in East Orange was made even scarier due to faulty fire escapes.

Flames tore through the complex, located on Grove Street, Thursday night. Tenants say when they tried to flee the building using the fire escapes, the recently painted ladders would not drop. Some people claim they desperately tried to drop the ladders for 10 minutes as thick smoke poured through the complex. They say firefighters quickly raised their ladders and helped people out of the building.

Investigators believe the fire started on the second floor of the four-story complex. Several of the building?s 25 apartments were destroyed, and many others were damaged. News 12 New Jersey is waiting to hear from city representatives about the fire escapes. In the meantime, tenants have been put up in a hotel.