The neighbors will now have to deal with a bed bug infestation, if they weren't already.

Woman's death investigation sparks hazmat response in Jersey City

By Caitlin Mota
The Jersey Journal

JERSEY CITY - First responders investigating the death of a woman in her mid 40s found a bug infestation so severe it prompted a heavy hazmat response from the city's fire department.

Sources with knowledge of the investigation said they were called to a home on Griffith Street between Central and Summit Avenues for a sick call. The woman's family told responders she had been drinking and collapsed inside the home.

First responders performed CPR, but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene. What appeared to be bedbugs covered the walls and other items inside the home, sources said.

The fire department set up a hazmat station in the middle of Griffith Street, where anyone who went inside the building was scrubbed to make sure all of the bugs that were sticking to their clothing were removed, sources said.

At the scene, residents stood stunned as dozens of firefighters, health inspectors and medical examiners flooded the quiet Heights neighborhood.

Elizabeth Jackson, who lives a few blocks away, said she walks down Griffith Street almost every day and frequently saw the woman sitting on the porch with her parents. The two often said hello as they crossed paths.

"We said 'hi, how are you today,'" Jackson recalled.

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