The early morning fire was small and it was contained to a single apartment, but six families — a total of 24 people — were displaced from their Jersey City homes Friday.
And the building ownership doing very little to help them relocate, at least temporarily, one of the tenants in the Dr. Lena Francis Edwards Apartments at 455 Ocean Ave. told The Jersey Journal.
Judy Pringle and her five kids, ages 2 to 13, were camped out in the lobby of the building Friday afternoon, hoping to hear from Genesis, which owns the building, about assistance.
She had bags of wet clothes that needed to be laundered and $800 from the American Red Cross for food, lodging and other necessities, but had not yet figured out where they would stay.
Jersey City firefighters responded to the top floor of the five-story building at 2:30 a.m. and quickly contained the fire, but the water damage forced the evacuation of five other apartments.
With five kids, Pringle said she’s afraid the $800 will not get her past the weekend.
“I appreciate the Red Cross,” Pringle said. “My issue is strictly with management.”
Pringle said the displaced families asked if they could be placed at one of Genesis’ other apartment buildings, but that idea was rejected. Officials with Genesis say they are working with Hudson County, other local agencies and the Red Cross to help the tenants temporary assistance.
It was not clear when the repairs would be completed and Genesis given approval to allow the tenants to return.
Residents in the building say they have complained to management about the tenants of the apartment where the fire started, citing an alleged hoarding situation and activity in the apartment all hours of the night. But management ignored the complaints, they said.
