The 911 operator should ask, " What are the cross streets?"

Thanks for the reminder! A noble drive, and Porto is actually very good for a few shared dishes and wine, so a win-win.

This is just a reminder...

Please stop by the Porto Lounge, 286 First Street, from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, March 14 to drop off donations. Checks can be made out to United Way of Hudson County, with the memo designation of Grant Avenue Fire Victims Relief.



Please give what you can. I will be there with the beard and Yankees cap, say hello :)

Thanks!

I wonder who will get to keep "Beacon". Way or Street?

By Ron Zeitlinger/The Jersey Journal

Jersey City and the United Way of Hudson County are collecting monetary donations for the victims of the Grant Avenue fire in which four people died and at least 35 people were displaced.

People are asked to stop by the Porto Lounge, 286 First Street, from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, March 14, drop off donations. Checks can be made out to United Way of Hudson County, with the memo designation of Grant Avenue Fire Victims Relief.

People can also donate by cell phone, online or by regular mail. Through a cell phone, people can donate $10 by texting UWHC JCFIRE to 52000. People can also go to unitedwayhudson.org and click on the "give" tab; or mail a check to United Way Hudson County, 857 Bergen Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07306.

http://launch.newsinc.com/share.html? ... ocalnews&videoId=25689765

The difficulty in getting firefighters to the correct address of a fatal Jersey City fire on Thursday morning is evident in communication between a firefighters and a dispatcher, which was posted online by PIX11.com

The recording is a partial transmission and does not include any 911 calls made by residents in regards to the Grant Avenue blaze that claimed the lives of four family members.

"Dispatch (inaudible), is that 27 Grant?" a firefighter asks.

The dispatcher says "That is correct. We are having an address problem in Company 17. Trying to get ... contact Engine Company 8. ... That's Grant with a 't.' ... 2-7 Grant Avenue. Box to follow."

City officials have acknowledged that firefighters were initially dispatched to 27 Grand Street. The 4-alarm blaze was on Grant Avenue, and damaged building numbers 26, 28, 28 1/2, 30, 32 and 34.

The confusion between Grand and Grant is also evident in one of the responses to the correct address, where an unidentified firefighter redirects people to Grant Avenue.

"All units disregard Grant, Grand Street, Grand Street. Redirecting some to Grand Avenue, Grant Avenue. Stand by."

The Jersey Journal has filed an Open Public Records Act request for 911 calls and the complete audio of the communications between the dispatcher and firehouses.

(Click on link to hear audio - I couldn't embed for some reason)

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This seems to happen also when you make your call from a cellphone. It has something to do with the towers I was told. I was driving home one night from a meeting on Ocean Ave. when a fight broke out between people in the car in front of me & a group of people crossing the street. The South District was a stone's throw away & yet the 911 operator asked me for city & state! This is horrifying.

This is a horrible outcome. What can be done to improve this situation and where did the error stem from ? My feeling is to look at the clarity of the audio system, annunciation, listening with a sensitive ear, along with regional and foreign accents. In addition, if I heard Street instead of Avenue I would think GranT not GranD.

JC has its own 911 but so does the county. When NYC or other towns are filled up, it goes to the next available 911 location. It has nothing to do with area codes or towns. Sometimes they receive 911 from airplanes.

I have called 911 several times when I see something suspicious in my area, my block is only a block long so most people in JC never heard of it, but I was surprised when the 911 operator ask me what city is this in? I was like huh? I have a land line but my area code is 212.

So many of our 911 calls are being sent to some place in NYC.

I spoke against JC granting the Beacon which is call 20 Beacon Way because there is a Beacon Street in the Heights. We also have Pershing downtown and Pershing in the Heights.

Elumae and Bishop William Pickett perished in a four-alarm fire at their Grant Avenue home in Jersey City on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014. Their two special needs sons, 52-year-old Thomas and 49-year-old Curtis, also died in the blaze. This is a tragedy.

Reading the comments from the JJ articles on NJ.com, a lot of readers are asking if cross streets were requested from the 911 dispatcher. I think that's a very good question.

A few take-aways from this tragedy IMHO:

1. Always give cross streets to 911 operators
2. Spell out the street name to the operator
3. Check your smoke/CO2 detectors - they're cheap and they save lives

My thoughts and prayers are with them as well.

Even as I was listening to 1010Wins, I was thinking there is no such address as 27 Grand St. I would think, that the fire engine located 4 blocks away would know the area and would find the address weird. That part of town are mostly office buildings.

The City of Jersey City website makes me select a correct address for a service request. And on their website, there is no such address as 27 Grand St.

There must be a database that 911 and the fire department can query.

I think the mayor was pretty forthcoming in saying that firefighters went to the wrong address. What remains to be investigated and reported is why.

Was the fire address reported wrong by a civilian? Did 911 make an error? Did the firefighters respond to a wrong address by their own actions? It's early to say why, but this needs to be investigated and put out to the light of day.

According to MapQuest, Grant Ave is 2.73 miles away from Grand Street. That's a 10 minute drive based on their calculations. Even if the same fire company responded in half that time, that's a lot of time lost.

My thoughts and prayers are with all the families tonight as well as the first responders.

Is the Jersey Journal newspaper, located in Secaucus, trying to say that they dispatched the wrong engine company?

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Steven Fulop Facebook:

Many of you know there was a major fire last night at Grant/Ocean in JC. It was 4 alarms, 30 people displaced and people still unaccounted for. We can use help as always and UnitedWay of Hudson County is our partner. You can donate to support the families at the link or people can text to 52000 UWHC JCFire / that is for $10. It is one community and these families need help. http://www.liveunitedhudson.org/Main/

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City of Jersey City Facebook:

City Firefighters have been battling a four-alarm fire on Grant Avenue between Rose and Ocean Avenues in which two residents died and two residents remain unaccounted for.

During this difficult time, the City has opened the Bethune Center at 140 MLK Drive for approximately three dozen resident who have been evacuated from their homes. The Red Cross and the United Way are both assisting.

As many as six buildings, all adjacent row houses, were damaged or destroyed by the blaze, which was first reported at 1:07 a.m. Firefighters are awaiting shutoff off of utilities and the arrival of construction equipment before they can safely begin a thorough search of the buildings.

Two firefighters sustained minor injuries and were treated at Jersey City Medical Center and later released.

Anyone wishing to donate to the fire victims can either visit the United Way of Hudson County website at http://www.liveunitedhudson.org or text UWHC JCFire to 52000.

Annod here's the JJ piece about the delay ....

Firefighters responding to fatal Jersey City fire went to wrong address: Mayor


http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... html#incart_river_default

Shouldn't the local fire department at 160 Grand Street know that there is no such address as 27 Grand Street?

http://goo.gl/maps/sfuqk

When I was listening to 1010WINS this morning, it sounded like 'Grand' to me too.

JERSEY CITY (WABC) -- Eyewitness News has learned firefighters initially went to the wrong address, nearly 3 miles from this morning's deadly fire in Jersey City.

Mayor Steven Michael Fulop tells Jim Hoffer that first responders were initially sent to 27 Grand Street instead of 28 Grant Avenue.

Fulop says it's too soon to say how much this miscommunication would have delayed the response.

Firefighters remained on the scene of the fire that killed as many as 4 people, gutted five homes and displaced at least 35.

The flames broke out just before 1 a.m. at a row home on Grant Avenue in Jersey City and soon engulfed four neighboring homes as the fire jumped to four alarms.

The victims are believed to be an elderly couple and their two adult children. Part of the home where the fire began also houses a small private church where the oldest male victim served as pastor.

CLICK HERE to see images from the scene.

Responders had to battle the bitter cold as well as the fire, with power lines and sidewalks freezing over from the amount of water being poured on the fire.

The five buildings were gutted, while several others suffered damage. At least 35 people were displaced.

It took firefighters about an hour to put out the flames, but hotspots lingered into the morning.

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries.

The displaced residents were taken to the community center in town.

Firefighters were unable to enter some of the structures due to stability concerns and a possible gas issue.

Eyewitness News

Sometimes it takes a death to bring something to life. Until then everyone is critical of the fact. I should know, I've been scolded on here enough.

(update.... RIP)


2 dead, 2 still missing in Jersey City 4-alarm blaze: officials

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... chief.html#incart_m-rpt-1

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This is common here in GV and BL there are lots of absent slum landlords who live in Brooklyn, NY or Deal, NJ collecting section 8 checks..

There are also tons of Apt's throughout JC that are illegal and not up to code. Lots of these old one family Victorian homes that were converted into multi family dwellings are historic and not meant to house 3 families of 8 people, which I find ridiculous and dangerous.

When I lived downtown, the state of NJ would visit my home every 5 years because it was 3 family home. Here is a perhaps 2 family home. Who are inspecting these homes to make sure everything is up to code? It appears the owner has converted this house into a multi-family. A fire like this can spread to other buildings if it cut up into many apartments without the proper inspections and without the proper evacuation for those number of people. Yes, I feel sorry for the people, but when was this home inspected to make sure it met fire codes?

(there is another report that 4 people are unaccounted for but no further info.. prayers for all involved)

Temporary shelter set up for 25 displaced in Jersey City 4-alarm blaze

By Vonecia Carswell/The Jersey Journal
on March 06, 2014 at 9:16 AM, updated March 06, 2014 at 10:18 AM

Three families that were displaced by a 4-alarm fire this morning in Jersey City have been relocated to a shelter and are being assisted by the local chapter of the American Red Cross.

The Red Cross is using the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center, at 140 Martin Luther King Dr., as a temporary shelter for the victims of the Grant Avenue fire

JJ piece? (Unbelievable video of the fire )

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... ey_city.html#incart_river