3-alarm fire in Cliffside Park spreads to nearby building; block evacuated

November 18, 2014, 6:18 PM Last updated: Tuesday, November 18, 2014, 11:42 PM

Marko Georgiev/Staff Photographer

A secondary fire ignited by burning embers engulfed a multifamily house at 375 Palisade Ave. in Cliffside Park

Marko Georgiev/Staff Photographer

A three-alarm fire at a multistory building being constructed on Walker street in Cliffside Park was brought under control Tuesday night, but not before the fire spread to at least one occupied building nearby.

Firefighters battled into the late evening Tuesday to quell an intense five-alarm blaze in a four-story residential building under construction in Cliffside Park, struggling against high winds that sent burning embers over a wide area, setting at least one three-story row house ablaze.

Photos: Firefighters battle multiple Cliffside Park fires

The entire block was evacuated along Palisade Avenue adjacent to the initial blaze at the corner of Walker Street. But there were no immediate reports of any serious injuries, said Thomas Calabrese, a borough councilman. As miodnight neared, one fireman had been injured, suffering minor smoke inhalation.

Neighbors who rushed out of their homes in the area said they heard three loud explosions, then saw flames erupt from the roof of the new building, a three-story wood frame structure over a concrete-walled ground floor.

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3-alarm fire in Cliffside Park spreads to nearby building; block evacuated