A woman was critically injured early Monday after letting go of a balcony and falling to the parking lot below during a raging multi-alarm fire at a high-rise apartment building in Pennsauken, New Jersey. Firefighters battled heavy smoke and flames that tore through the building as residents scrambled to escape or shelter in place.
According to 6abc, firefighters were called to the Cooper River Apartments in the 2400 block of McClellan Avenue around 2 a.m. Monday. Crews arrived to find heavy smoke pouring from an apartment in the rear of the 14-story building, with viewer video showing flames shooting out of a fifth-floor unit. Action News was told the woman was seen hanging from a balcony before officials say she let go and fell to the parking lot below. She was taken to Cooper Hospital in critical condition.
A separate account from CBS Philadelphia describes a July 2015 fire, not the October 2026 fire at Cooper River Apartments. The 2015 fire was at Cooper River Plaza Apartments in the 5100 block of North Park Drive, where flames were reported on the third floor just after midnight Monday. About 350 residents were evacuated, no residents were injured, and one firefighter was hospitalized for heat exhaustion. Firefighters brought the flames under control in about 30 minutes.
Wheelchair Users Trapped on Ninth Floor Rescued
As the fire intensified, firefighters struck a second alarm to summon help from neighboring departments, and after nearly an hour, a third alarm was struck because of the blaze's severity, per the station's report. Two residents in wheelchairs on the ninth floor called 911 because they could not escape their smoke-filled apartments. Firefighters rescued both residents, who were not injured, the same account notes.
Most residents in the building needed to evacuate, while some on the top floors were told to shelter in place rather than risk the smoke-filled stairwells, per the same report. The CBS account separately states that smoke spread throughout the 14-story building and forced the evacuation of roughly 350 residents, and that firefighters brought the flames under control in about 30 minutes.
Neighbors Describe Chaos and Smoke-Filled Stairwells
A neighbor told the station he initially thought the fire alarms might be a false alarm before he heard shouting and saw people running, prompting him to go outside with his coat and shoes. He described the stairwell as very smoky and said he helped other residents by bringing blankets from his car.
The fire has since been placed under control, but there has been no word on its cause, according to 6abc's report. High-rise fires pose particular dangers because of long evacuation routes and smoke that can spread quickly through stairwells and hallways; the U.S. Fire Administration advises residents of such buildings to know the location of all exit stairs in case of an emergency. New Jersey's Division of Fire Safety also reminds residents to check smoke and carbon monoxide alarms frequently and replace batteries twice a year.
Other Fires in the Region
Other fires in the region include a woman who was recovering after jumping from a third-floor window during a fast-moving house fire in Elizabeth, New Jersey, according to CBS New York, while two firefighters were injured battling a blaze on a high-rise balcony on New York City's Upper East Side, per ABC7 New York. In January, a fire displaced nine units at a high-rise building in Atlantic City, New Jersey, as previously reported by 6abc Philadelphia.
