One Man Dead, Several Injured In Jersey City Fire

*THIS STORY CONTAINS NEW INFORMATION                                                                                                                                                                                            One person has died and several others have been injured in an early morning fire on Thursday in Jersey City.  The Hudson County Regional Arson Task Force and the Jersey City Fire Department are investigating.

The blaze, which broke out in a second floor apartment above a laundromat on 296 Summit Avenue shortly after 3 a.m. took the life of a man in his fifties, and critically injured a woman and her two, young children, both under the age of ten.  They are being treated at the Barnabas Medical Center Burn Unit in Livingston.

A press release from the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office states, “Upon arrival, first responders found heavy smoke coming from a three story building. During suppression activities, firefighters located four individuals with serious injuries inside a second floor apartment unit. One male victim – later identified as Lahcen Elmguielle, 59, of Jersey City – was pronounced dead at Jersey City Medical Center sometime before 8 a.m. A 40-year-old female, an 8-year-old female, and a 6-year-old female remain in critical condition at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center.

A fifth victim, a third floor resident, was treated and released from Jersey City Medical Center with minor injuries. Four firefighters are also being treated for non-life threatening injuries.”

The firefighters’ injuries include smoke inhalation and burns.

The origin of the fire appears to have been the kitchen, although at the present time, it does not appear to be suspicious, but it remains under investigation.