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Off-Duty Firefighter Rescues Woman From Burning Building

NEWARK – An off-duty firefighter rescued a woman from a blaze in Newark’s West Ward this afternoon as the city fire department battled a pair of house fires that were later deemed suspicious, authorities said.

Off-duty firefighter Joseph Cuccolo entered a burning three-story structure on Ninth Avenue around 1 p.m. and pulled an unidentified woman from the one-alarm blaze, according to city fire department chief Michael Lalor. The woman was not severely injured, Lalor said, but her condition was not available last night.

Cuccolo, who is normally stationed at nearby Engine Co. 11 on South Ninth Street, remained on the scene as firefighters brought the blaze under control within a half-hour.

Lalor said the fire may have been related to a two-alarm blaze that ripped through two structures on South 13th Street earlier in the day.

Around 12:35 p.m., city firefighters responded to reports of several people trapped on the third floor of a burning building located at 86 South 13th Street. Lalor said all searches of the building found no one, but the fire did spread to an occupied building next door. Firefighters walked several residents out of the structure, located at 88 South 13th Street, and brought the fire under control around 1:25 p.m.

All three buildings suffered significant structural damage, according to Lalor, but investigators had not determined a cause as of last night. Lalor did not say why investigators believe the fires were related.

Mutual aid companies from Irvington and East Orange were stationed in Newark while city firefighters battled the West Ward blazes, Lalor said.

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