Popular Hoboken Pub Destroyed By Fire
Hoboken, NJ - January 7, 2008
Mc Swiggan's, a favorite bar and restaurant located in downtown Hoboken at 110 1st St., was destroyed by fire early Monday morning.
The blaze reportedly began in the basement arround 1:00am and workers attempted to extinguish it themselves before the fire department was notified.
First units on the scene were faced with heavy fire on the first floor and the report of people trapped. As water supplies were being set up, search teams entered the building to assist any remaining occupants to safety.
[photogallery/photo00032580/real.htm] Although companies were able to knock down the fire on the first floor quite quickly; teams working on the upper floors reported that the fire was running the walls and spreading upward. As they went to work opening the walls, hidden fire from below began to compromise the floors and stairways. All personell were ordered out of the building as conditions continued to deteriorate.
The blaze was then attacked with several hand lines from the ground and adjacent rooftops, as well as with a deck gun and two aerial streams. A special call was placed for Tower Ladder 4 from Jersey City to access difficult to reach areas of the upper floors.
Several firefighters were treated on the scene for smoke and heat related conditions. As of this writing some 7+ hours into the fire, areas of the 4 story brick structure continue to burn.
The cause and origin of the fire await an investigation.
