5 homes to be demolished after fire in Trenton

TRENTON, N.J. (WPVI) -- A total of five homes will have to be demolished following a fire in Trenton, New Jersey.

Three of the homes were occupied and two were vacant, fire officials say.

A 22-year-old, who had just celebrated her birthday, was critically injured in the blaze. She suffered burns on 70 to 80 percent of her body.

Luis Rodriguez told Action News what he saw with the help of a translator.

"She came out all in flames, all burned up. He tried to cover her to get off the fire."

One firefighter was taken to the hospital for heat exhaustion.

There were no other injuries.

The blaze broke out around 10:00 p.m. in the 200 block of Hills Place.

When crews arrived on the scene they found heavy fire showing from the five homes, prompting the call for additional alarms.

"I was laying in bed and I heard, like, a cannon went off, like an explosion, and I heard people screaming. I ran out to see what it was. I looked out and I saw the house engulfed in flames," said neighbor Jamont Richardson.

It took firefighters about three hours to get the 4-alarm fire under control.

Thirteen people were displaced in the blaze. They are being assisted by the Red Cross.

The city's plan to demolish what's left of the damaged homes is leaving people who live across the street temporarily homeless. That's because their homes are only separate from the fire scene by a narrow alley.

"I was told two to three days before I can go back to my house. That's why I'm sitting out here now, waiting for Red Cross, talk to them to put me up somewhere until that time," Richardson said.

Investigators have ruled the fire accidental.