Dozens of people displaced by fire in Plainfield, New Jersey
Hours later, some were able to temporarily return, only to discover the charred insides of the places they once called home.
Watch CBS News
Hours later, some were able to temporarily return, only to discover the charred insides of the places they once called home.
According to officials, the fire started in the three-story mixed-use corner building at 5222 Bergenline Ave.
The fire marshal was trying to determine the cause of the blaze at a six-story building on Georgia Avenue.
They said the house on Devon Road was illegally subdivided and tenants said smoke detectors didn't work.
Families and community leaders told CBS New York the blaze on Sunday couldn't have come at a worse time.
More than 200 crew members responded to the fire, which sent a massive plume of smoke into the sky.
The fire broke out at around 2 p.m. on the sixth floor of a building on Rockaway Parkway near Winthrop Street.
The blaze started at around 2 p.m. on the sixth floor of the building on Watson and Colgate avenues in Soundview.
Flames broke out on the top floor of the five-story building at 1316 Morris Ave., at around 10:45 a.m.
One resident of the Bronx apartment building said more than 50 people had piled up at the door trying to escape.
The department said the fire broke out just before 6 a.m. Firefighters brought it under control an hour later.
