Belleville warehouse fire recovery continues as Gov. Mikie Sherrill visits site
Gov. Mikie Sherrill toured the site alongside local officials, praising first responders who helped ensure no lives were lost despite the scale of the blaze.
Cleanup and recovery efforts are underway in Belleville after a massive warehouse fire along Cortlandt Street that prompted a massive response and left behind extensive damage.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill toured the site alongside local officials, praising first responders who helped ensure no lives were lost despite the scale of the blaze.
“We have the best public servants in the nation — the best firefighters — and I think that's why, despite a 12- to 14-alarm fire right here, everyone was safe at the end of the day,” Sherrill said.
Mayor Michael Melham says the township is now facing millions of dollars in damages and will need state assistance to recover. He noted that costs extend beyond demolition and debris removal, including major water usage from mutual aid response.
“It’s easy to quantify how much it costs to knock down a building or haul debris away. But we used 3 million gallons of water from neighboring Nutley — and that comes with a bill,” Melham said.
Officials say the community remains in recovery mode as displaced residents continue to seek assistance.
“We are still in crisis mode, trying to identify the needs of families,” said Deputy Mayor Naomy De Pena. “Not everyone is in the same place. We want to bring back the families evacuated because of the demolition and help them rebuild.”
Belleville schools have shifted to virtual learning through Friday. About 51 residents remain without power, while some businesses — including Signature Fitness — have reopened despite ongoing low water pressure.
“Even though we have four porta-potties outside and we’re putting in a luxury trailer for bathrooms, people still want to come and work out,” said owner Warren Feldman. “When we told them we were reopening, they said fine — we don’t care about the locker room.”
Amid the devastation, there was one bright moment: a family who feared they had lost their cat, Floyd, was reunited after firefighters found the animal hiding in an air vent. He was taken to a veterinarian and is expected to recover.
“They lost everything and now this could just put, probably for the first time in maybe five days, a smile on their face,” one official said.
Demolition of the remaining warehouse is expected to begin Friday. Crews will remain on site until the structure is fully taken down and a full damage assessment is completed.
