EDGEWATER - As of this writing at 9:30 p.m., a massive fire is consuming the condominium complex that was under construction on the site of the old Alcoa building.

At approximately 8:00 p.m. this evening, the general alarm fire broke out in one of three buildings going up on the site at River Road and Russell Avenue, the future "Avalon Mews". Within minutes, the spectacular blaze was raging out of control. Firefighters on the scene are at this time apparently battling to keep the fire under control and prevent it from spreading to neighboring homes. The fire is also only approximately 1/4 mile north of the Hess storage tanks. However, as of this writing, the winds are blowing to the west rather than the south toward the Hess facility.

The fire quickly spread from the building of origin to a second building, then the third. According to reports, the buildings, which were close to completion, are at this writing crumbling and completely destroyed. Flames have reached up to 120 feet high, with billowing smoke and burning embers causing the evacuation of homes atop the Palisades in Cliffside Park.

River Road is closed throughout its length, along with Route 5. Cliffside Park and Fort Lee have also acted quickly to close off all access roads to Edgewater, including Gorge Road, Route 5, Palisade Avenue, and Columbia Avenue. Fire departments from several surrounding towns have responded under their mutual aid agreement with Edgewater, as news helicopters hover overhead.

The fire has illuminated the sky across the southeast Bergen County region and can be seen for miles, causing traffic slowdowns from rubbernecking on the West Side Highway in Manhattan. At this time, there are no reports of casualties. It is anticipated that the blaze will burn throughout the night.

8/30/00 9:45pm

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POSTSCRIPT: To aid the fire victims, please send monetary donations to:
Edgewater Fire Relief Fund
c/o Jane Roberti
916 River Road
Edgewater, NJ 07020
Note: Checks should be made payable to the “Edgewater Good Neighbor Fund”, with the notation in the memo portion: “fire victims”.