Bayonne mayor: Fire was contained to roof of Bayonne Medical Center

UPDATE: Fire chief says roofing materials burned, propane fed flames

The fire at Bayonne Medical Center Friday night was contained to the roof of the five-story building, Mayor Jimmy Davis said.

An acetylene tank on the roof as part of work being done ignited, he said, and flames were shooting straight up. It has yet to be determined, he said, how the tank ignited.

Firefighters were able to douse the blaze with a hand-held hose, he said.

No injuries were reported and no structural or interior damage is apparent, he said.

Patients from the fourth and fifth floors were moved to the second and third floors, he said.

The Avenue E and East 29th Street site is a sea of emergency vehicles.

"Right here, I count eight fire engines,'' Davis said, listing apparatus from Bayonne and Jersey City as well as ambulances from McCabe Ambulance of Bayonne and the Jersey City Medical Center. "Most of them are on standby."

One truck has its ladder extended to the roof.

Freelance news photographer Joe Shine's brother Robert heard a bang and could see the flames from his home in a highrise on East 20th Street and Avenue E.

"We are extremely grateful to the men and women of the Bayonne and Jersey City fire departments, the Bayonne Police Department and McCabe EMS for a job well-done,'' Jarrod Bernstein, director of communications for CarePoint Health, said from the scene. "And we are extremely thankful there were no injuries to patients, staff or first responders.''

The hospital and the city will continue to investigate the cause of the fire, he said.

The 278-bed facility is part of the CarePoint Health system.

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