Firefighters were on the scene of two major fires in Hudson County that were less than 3 miles apart from one another.

The first fire started just before 5 p.m. Thursday in an apartment building near 54th and Madison streets in West New York. The second fire started about two hours later on the 900 block of John F. Kennedy Boulevard in Union City at the Salvation Army thrift store.

Both fires quickly became multiple alarms.

The American Red Cross says that 25 families from the apartment building were displaced, along with 16 families from an adjacent building that was impacted by the fire. Those families were taken to a nearby school for shelter.

A witness tells News 12 New Jersey that he helped a family escape from the blaze. Fabian Alava’s sister-in-law owns the nearby bodega. He says that the smoke was very thick once the fire started. He helped rescue a father and his children who were stuck.

"There were three kids and their father stuck on the fire escape that couldn't come out because the fire escape was locked. So what me and my other brother-in-law did, we grabbed the ladder that we use for the store, we connected it to the fire escape ladder and we were able to rescue the three kids and their father,” Alava says.

It was not clear how this fire started. Large plumes of smoke could be seen for miles due to the flames. The fire became so intense that New York City officials issued a warning that Manhattan residents might smell or see the smoke.

The residents who were displaced are meeting with representatives from the American Red Cross for assistance.

News 12 was also told that there were some injuries associated with this fire. But details regarding those injuries were not immediately known.

Few details were available regarding the fire at the Salvation Army building. That fire was reported around 7 p.m. Video posted on social media showed bright orange flames and thick black smoke.

It was not immediately clear how this fire started or if anyone was hurt.

It was extinguished as of 11 p.m.

Weather conditions in Hudson County were windy Thursday evening, which carried the smoke from the fires for miles and helped fan the flames.