“Basement fires can be extremely dangerous to our crews. There was a lot of smoke in the basement, making locating the fire very difficult,” Fair Lawn Fire Chief Pete Yuskaitis said after the 31st Street blaze was doused early Monday evening.

“The crews did a great job fighting the heat to get to the fire and extinguish it,” the chief said.

The call to the two-story home on 31st Street came in at 6:38 p.m. May 6, Yuskaitis said.

The fire quickly escalated to a second alarm, bringing all four Fair Lawn fire companies along with colleagues from Elmwood Park, Paramus, Paterson and Saddle Brook who the chief said assisted either at the scene or in coverage.

The blaze was declared under control in under an hour, he said.

Firefighters continued dousing hot spots before the scene was cleared a little over three hours after the initial call.

No injuries were reported, Yuskaitis said, but the house was so severely damaged that it was declared uninhabitable.

Roughly 40 firefighters in all responded. Also there were Fair Lawn police and the borough's Rescue Squad, Office of Emergency Management and Volunteer Ambulance Corp, the chief said.

The cause of the blaze, which brought 40 or so firefighters to the scene, is being investigated by the Fair Lawn Fire Prevention Bureau.

Photos courtesy of Fair Lawn Fire Department Photographer Priscila Krischer.

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