A fire broke out at a Jersey City home Thursday afternoon, killing one woman and injuring several others.
Witnesses said neighbors saw flames coming from a second-story window of a home on Boyd Avenue around 5 p.m. and ran into one of the homes.
An elderly man, his adult son and the family dog were rescued, but a woman believed to be in her 80s was still inside, sources said. Jersey City firefighters said they were faced with walls of flames and mountains of debris as they tried to reach her.
“The building is filled with trash, garbage and debris,” Jersey City Fire Chief Jack Johnson said, calling it a “serious hoarding situation.”
Johnson said the woman, whom neighbors described as a wife and mother, was found in a cluttered second-floor area.
She was pronounced dead.
Three people were taken to the hospital, fire officials said. Three firefighters also suffered minor injuries.
The house on fire and two other neighboring houses were evacuated.
Some said they heard explosions when the fire broke out, and while PSE&G was seen working on the scene, firefighters have not shown whether gas played a role in the fire.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.