Union City Apartment Fire Belches Smoke To Manhattan

UNION CITY, N.J. (AP) -- Authorities in northern New Jersey said nearly three dozen people were forced from their homes by a fire that spread through two adjacent apartment buildings in Union City on Tuesday afternoon.

The fire began around 4 p.m. Smoke from the blaze was visible across the Hudson River in Manhattan.

The Jersey Journal of Jersey City reports that the fire began in the basement of one of the three-story buildings and spread to the building next door. The first building partially collapsed.

There were no reports of injuries to residents. The newspaper reports that two firefighters were treated for exhaustion.