A suspicious, three-alarm fire ripped through a vacant Jersey City apartment building on Jordan Avenue, where squatters are believed to have been living, authorities said.
The blaze, which broke out at 8:20 p.m. Monday, forced the evacuation of an attached building.
Firefighters responding to 45 Jordan Ave. found heavy fire in the building and quickly called a second alarm due to the volume of the flames and in order to prevent the fire from spreading to the attached building, Jersey City Fire Chief Steven McGill said.
A third alarm was called to bring backup firefighters to the scene as flames blasted out the building’s windows. At at one point, the fire became so dangerous that the firefighters had to be evacuated and they climbed down ladders from second story windows to get to safety, McGill said.