Small house for 14...

Terrence T. McDonald | The Jersey Journal

- Fourteen people are homeless and five people injured today after a one-alarm fire in a Columbia Avenue multi-family house last night.

The blaze started in a basement apartment, and firefighters had it under control in about 40 minutes, according to public safety spokeswoman Carly Baldwin, but the blaze destroyed kitchens in two of the units and left the two-story building at 308-310 Columbia Avenue uninhabitable for four families, according to a witness.

Firefighters rescued two people from the home, Baldwin said.

Baldwin said the cause of the fire is still under investigation. The witness, who asked not to be identified, said she and other neighbors were told a careless smoker may have ignited the blaze with a cigarette.

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