A fifth alarm that burned through two Jersey City homes brought down a live power line on firefighters, injuring seven of them.
The fire broke out between the Irving Street homes just before 3 a.m. this morning and quickly spread.
As firefighters arrived, an energized power line came down on their fire truck, shocking at least four firefighters and a captain.
"They were either in the truck or near the truck. they were close enough where they had minor electrical shock," Jersey City Fire Chief Steven McGill said.
In all, seven firefighters were taken to Jersey City Medical Center, all with non-life-threatening injuries.
Eighteen residents from six families were left homeless by the flames, which forced many to flee in the middle of the night.