The Jersey Journal (New Jersey)

JERSEY CITY, NJ — A Jersey City firefighter suffered second-degree burns yesterday when a staircase collapsed beneath him while he was fighting a two-alarm blaze in a Greenville two-story building, officials said.

Firefighters responded to the blaze on Forrest Street off Martin Luther King Drive on a 12:37 p.m. alarm and found heavy fire in the basement and both floors of the vacant building, which appeared to be a two-family home, said Fire Director Armando Roman.

Flames spread to an attached, vacant building on one side and heat and smoke pumped into an attached, occupied building on other side, Roman said.

Jersey City Firefighter Alex Degnan was at the head of a crew running a hose into the center building when a staircase gave way and collapsed into the basement, Roman said.

Firefighters pulled him back before he fell, but a blast of flames rose from the basement and the back of Degnan's neck was burned as he turned to escape, Roman said. Degnan was treated at the Jersey City Medical Center and he was taken off duty, Roman said.

The fire was under control at 1:20 p.m. but not before all floors in the center building suffered fire damage, officials said. The two attached buildings were also damaged.

Firefighters said they believed residents in the occupied building would be able to return home last night. Arson investigators are trying to determine the cause of the fire, Roman said.

Copyright 2008, Jersey Journal (New Jersey)