Fire Breaks Out in Jersey City Building

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — A fire broke out Monday night near the top of a high-rise luxury condominium building under construction, prompting evacuations and disrupting light rail service close to the heart of the city's financial district.

There were no reports of injuries.

Dozens of firefighters battled the blaze at the 18-story building, which began in an elevator well between the 17th and 18th floors. The cause was not immediately known.

Firefighters had trouble reaching the fire, partly because the building's standpipe, or source of water, was activated only up to the 14th floor, said Fire Director Armando Roman.

The fire was declared under control shortly before 1 a.m., but firefighters expected to be at the scene for hours longer until pockets of fire inside the building could be extinguished.

Service on the Hudson Bergen Light Rail line was disrupted and police said an area of several blocks around the fire scene would be closed to vehicular traffic on Tuesday morning.

Flames could be seen across the Hudson River in Manhattan. The fire quickly accelerated, feeding on lumber being used to frame interior areas of the upper floors.

The building's steel and concrete construction helped limit most of the damage to the two upper floors and the building itself was in no danger of collapse. Occupancy is slated for the summer of 2009.