Dozens displaced following fire in Bogota
Responders from Teaneck, Fort Lee, Hackensack and other fire departments gathered outside 15 Palisade Ave. in Bogota.
Dozens of residents were displaced after crews battled a fire Sunday afternoon at an apartment building in Bogota.
Responders from Teaneck, Fort Lee, Hackensack and other fire departments gathered outside 15 Palisade Ave. A sign on the exterior of the building reads "West View Towers."
Officials say displaced residents headed to the nearby rec center at 162 W. Main St.
Reports of the fire came in around 2 p.m.
"Got a report of smoke in apartment 9. Uponarrival we had heavy smoke showing from the building," said Bogota Fire Department Battalion Chief Alex Breuss.
The Bogota Fire Department quickly set up command and called a second alarm to bring in help from surrounding towns.
All additional resources were on the scene within five to 10 minutes.
Crews immediately attacked the fire, which spread all across the top floor.
Breuss told News 12 there were about 60 people in 25 apartment units. They were all safe.
"We were able to evacuate everybody out of the building, nobody was injured," Breuss said.
As for the structure, there is significant damage. Breuss said part of the roof collapsed in the top right corner. Crews were not expecting any additional collapse as of Sunday night. They did have the surrounding area set up as a collapse zone just in case.
Many streets in the area were shut down for the emergency crews. The work continued for hours as they put out the flames and managed hotspots.
Everyone from the building was displaced as of Sunday night. The Red Cross said they provided 13 families with emergency financial assistance to help with temporary lodging, food, clothing and other needs.
A cause of the fire was not immediately known.
