UNION CITY, N.J. - A firefighter died
Saturday after he was overcome while
searching a burning apartment building for
people erroneously reported to be
trapped.
Fire struck the three-story apartment
building and a neighboring commercial
building just before 6 a.m., said Chief
Brion McEldowney of North Hudson Regional
Fire and Rescue.
Resident Nestor Mendoza, 18, who lived
with eight family members in two
second-floor apartments, said he was
awakened by a fire alarm and he and the
building superintendent opened the door to a
vacant third-floor apartment, where they
encountered dense smoke. He said he awakened
his relatives and another family, and they
all escaped.
However, North Bergen firefighter Vincent
Neglia, 45, heard erroneous reports that
people were trapped and rushed to the second
floor, where he was overcome, McEldowney
said.
Other firefighters found Neglia, and the
23-year veteran was pronounced dead at a
hospital, he said.
The fire was under investigation, but
McEldowney said it did not appear to be
suspicious.
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