Summit Fire Department Assists with Stubborn Millburn Blaze

The Summit Fire Department assisted Millburn and several surrounding towns in battling a stubborn five-alarm fire at 517 Millburn Avenue Sunday morning and into the afternoon, in a large commercial building that houses several stores. Millburn Fire Chief Michael Roberts estimated that as many as 175 firefighters may have ended up at the scene.

Traffic on Millburn Avenue in the area was shut down. Despite the bitter cold, a crowd of spectators gathered across the street near Enzo's Restaurant.

The fire was concentrated in what had been the location of Unica, a clothing store, which had closed. That part of the building, which had been under renovation, suffered the most damage, with the front of the store burned out.

Other stores in the building include the Chai Center Judaica, Stone and Tile Design, the Glenwood Cafe, One World, and an opticians office. According to Fire Chief Roberts, the fire damage was limited to the area previously occupied by Unica. He said adjoining stores may have suffered some smoke or water damage although firefighters took measures to keep that from happening.

The fire appeared to have started in the basement. According to an eyewitness, smoke was visible coming out of a door from the basement before firefighters arrived. Fire Chief Roberts said no one was in the building when the fire started.

According to fire communications, the fire spread through the basement and the "cockloft," the area above the main floor. Firefighters had been on the scene for more than 90 minutes when, shortly before 1 p.m., flames shot through the roof of the building and an alarm sounded pulling firefighters from the structure. Firefighters ran more hoses to the building and continued to pour water on the fire.

Firefighters issued a second alarm as soon as they arrived around 11:30 a.m. and third and fourth alarms were issued a few minutes later. The fifth alarm went out around 2:45 p.m. Units from nearby towns arrived to offer their assistance. An Irvington ladder truck had a ladder on the roof, while Newark, Maplewood, Springfield, West Orange, South Orange, Livingston, Nutley and Caldwell also helped fight the fire.

New Jersey Transit parked an out-of-service bus at the scene for firefighters to use to get warm.