Cliffside Park NJ 5th Alm, 669-673 Anderson Ave. 09-05-17

Heavy fire and smoke hampered firefighters in Cliffside Park during a 5 alarm fire which destroyed 3 businesses. At just around 19:15 on September 5th 2017, Cliffside Park Fire Dept was dispatched for a report of heavy smoke in A.J.s Pharmacy at 673 Anderson Ave. On arrival of the first chief he confirmed a heavy smoke condition in the store and requested an in town 2nd alarm. Co.s stretched lines into the building and reported fire in the rear of the store. Limited access hampered operations as co's worked on forcing the rear door and opening the roof for ventilation. As conditions deteriorated additional lines were stretched into the store and the exposures, the building was a 1 story ordinary construction housing the pharmacy, a fruit market and a discount store, it measured approximately 35' X 100'. At the 30 minute mark co's reported fire through the roof in the rear and fire blowing out the rear door, at this point command ordered the evacuation of the building and a defensive attack was established. Ultimately 5 alarms were struck bringing numerous mutual aid co's to the scene and for cover, 7 ladder pipes several ground monitors and numerous exterior hand lines were put into operation as the fire worked its way to the front of the building and a large portion of the roof collapsed. The fire was placed under control at just after 23:00 hours, 5 firefighters suffered non life threatening injuries and the building was a total loss, the cause of the fire is under investigation.