Gas from clothes dryer connection led to fire

Wednesday, November 05, 2008
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Gas escaping from an illegal clothes dryer connection triggered an explosion that led to Monday night's fire at the Montgomery Gardens public housing complex in Jersey City - a blaze that sent a woman to the hospital with burns on her left arm, officials said yesterday.

Management officials told the 50-year-old woman she had to remove the dryer from her apartment and she enlisted the help of a resident who disconnected the unit without shutting off its gas supply, Fire Director Armando Roman said.

When the man heard the sound of hissing gas, he ran away, Roman said.

The woman returned to the apartment and noticed the hiss, but the escaped gas apparently reached the stove's pilot light and detonated, blowing out the windows and burning her arm, Roman said.

She ran out of the apartment and firefighters responding to the 6:10 p.m. alarm saw flames blowing out the windows of the seventh-floor apartment at Montgomery and Florence streets, officials said.

A second alarm was quickly called due to the threat the fire would spread through the large building, Roman said. The fire was under control at 6:37 p.m., he said.

The resident suffered burns to her left arm and was taken to the Jersey City Medical Center for treatment, Roman said, adding she is expected to recover completely.

"This woman is lucky to be alive today," Roman said. "That explosion could have been a lot worse had the gas been allowed to build up for a while. It could have been a catastrophe."

Two-alarm fire at Jersey City public housing complex under control

by The Jersey Journal
Monday November 03, 2008, 6:34 PM

Jersey City fire officials are reporting that a two-alarm fire at the Montgomery Gardens public housing complex is under control.

The fire is centered on the seventh floor of a building at the development, which is located on Montgomery Street, officials said.

Fire Director Armando Roman couldn't confirm if there are injuries.

Jersey Journal staff writer Michaealangelo Conte said the street was blackened with soot, the air is filled with smoke, a helicopter is hovering above the complex, and several fire engines are on the scene.

Check back with Hudson County Now for updates