Daycare evacuates 59 kids as Bayonne, NJ fire destroys apartments

🔥 Five-alarm fire damages several apartments in Bayonne

🔥 17 people have been displaced from their homes

🔥 The Hudson County arson unit is investigating

BAYONNE — Authorities are investigating a fire that has destroyed several apartments and forced nearly five dozen children to evacuate.

The blaze on Avenue C in Bayonne broke out around 11:45 a.m. Friday, according to the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office.

Plumes of smoke were coming from an apartment bedroom above a pharmacy, authorities said. Flames spread to at least two other buildings.

Video by Jersey Shore Fire Response posted on YouTube showed firefighters dousing the buildings while smoke poured from a roof and upstairs windows.

One of the buildings was a daycare. Dozens of children were inside and had to be evacuated.

The daycare, Smile of a Child, said on Facebook that all 59 children were safely evacuated. They will be closed on Monday to evaluate the building.

"A huge thank you to our heroic staff, who did an amazing and swift job transferring all the kids with care, compassion, and exceptional responsibility. They exceeded all expectations in handling such an unexpected situation," the daycare said.

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Local Councilman Lloyad Booker, a retired Bayonne police officer, first saw the smoke and called 9-1-1 to report the fire, TAPinto Bayonne reported. He rushed over to help the daycare evacuate.

The fire destroyed six apartments and displaced 17 people.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Hudson County Regional Arson Task Force and the Bayonne Fire Department.

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