The maintenance workers who sparked a massive fire at a New Jersey luxury apartment complex never called 911, a source familiar with the investigation told NBC 4 New York.
Documents show the workers who sparked the fire on Jan. 21 that destroyed the Avalon on the Hudson complex in Edgewater did not alert authorities of the blaze, the source said.
Firefighters were first notified by the building's automated fire alert system.
Avalon senior vice president of brand strategy Kurt Conway told NJ.com it would be inappropriate to provide details while authorities and the company continue to investigate the devastating inferno.
The fire started when a blow torch used in a void in the wall for a plumbing repair by unlicensed maintenance men accidentally caused the fire, according to investigators.
The blaze quickly ripped through much of the complex and sent giant plumes of smoke into the sky that could be seen from miles away. Firefighters struggled to get a handle on the massive blaze for nearly a day. No one was injured in the blaze, but some pets perished, officials have said.
Displaced families filed a class action suit against AvalonBay, the complex owner, alleging negligence caused the fire that initially displaced 1,000 people. Half of them have been allowed to return, but more than 500 people were permanently displaced.
U.S. & World
The same apartment complex burned to the ground while under constructed in 2000.
