Man, 73, dies in Ridgefield Park house fire

<p>An elderly man died early Wednesday morning in a house fire in Ridgefield Park, officials said.</p>

News 12 Staff

Feb 7, 2018, 10:50 AM

Updated 2,416 days ago

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An elderly man died early Wednesday morning in a house fire in Ridgefield Park, officials said.
The fire was reported around 2 a.m. at a home on Brinkerhoff Street, where the victim lived alone, fire officials said. Police later identified the victim as 73-year-old Luis Ocha-Sanchez.
Ridegfield Park Fire Chief Jim Vandertulip told News 12 New Jersey that firefighters' efforts to rescue the man were not only made difficult by the flames, but also by the weather conditions.
“It’s not something that we ever want to see, but it does happen and we do our best. And then weather conditions didn’t help us either. Everything iced up real fast, so that didn’t make it easier,” Vandertulip said.
The fire chief said that in addition to the fatality, a firefighter was injured after slipping and falling on ice. The firefighter was taken to a hospital for treatment of a minor hip injury.
Authorities said the fire was determined to be accidental.