Fire at vacant Newark, N.J., house spreads to neighboring homes, 3 families displaced

A house fire in Newark, New Jersey, spread to neighboring homes Saturday morning, displacing several families.

The building on South 19th Street near Clinton Avenue went up in flames just after 4 a.m., growing to three alarms in just 10 minutes, according to fire officials.

Neighbors say the house where the fire started was vacant, but the flames extended to two adjacent buildings, including one multi-family home.

Panicked neighbors were left with nothing else to do but watch flames take over.  

"By the time I came out, it was like sunlight in here ... [The fire] was very bright," neighbor Tony Mansour said.

Neighbor Rosalyn Humphries moved into the multi-family home after her previous apartment building caught fire almost exactly four years ago.

"Everything I worked for. All my personal belongings, my whole life," she said.

Newark's public safety director says three families have been displaced, including seven adults and four children, and that there were no reported injuries. For now, displaced families are getting assistance from the Red Cross.

Fire officials have not determined an exact cause of the fire.  

According to neighbors, this is the second fire on the block in just a matter of months. They're concerned this could be a common occurrence in their city and in their neighborhood.

"They was cleaning up the process from three months ago. So unfortunately, it happened again," neighbor Dorthada Frederick said.

Neighbors, like Humphries' landlord Neilon Joseph, are expressing concern about vacant houses in the city catching fire.

"They need to clean up the street. The abandoned houses, they need to break them down," he said.

Humphries said she and her daughter are staying with a coworker while they figure out what's next.

"It's just a lot. It's really a lot," Humphries said.

Despite the tragedy, the neighborhood is once again reminded of its resilience.

"We're Newark strong. We're built for this. Keep us in prayer. We'll get through this," Frederick said.