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Part of this house on Clinton Place collapsed, injuring a firefighter.

 

A house fire on Clinton Place in Hackensack on Saturday was covered by Cliffview Pilot.com and The Record.

Comparing the coverage -- as it appeared on North Jersey.com and Cliffview Pilot.com -- you'd think it was two different events.

In the print edition today, a photo and caption on L-2 in Local makes sure to list all the fire departments assisting Hackensack, but doesn't include the cause of the blaze.

Homeowners on the block of Clinton Place where the house was destroyed draw tens of thousands every year with their Halloween decorations.

The following comparison of fire coverage is from Jerry DeMarco:

1 a.m. (THEM):

Saturday, May 26, 2012    Last updated: Sunday May 27, 2012, 1:00 AM

BY JAMES QUIRK

STAFF WRITER

The Record

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HACKENSACK — A Teaneck firefighter was injured in a three-alarm fire Saturday night when the back of a two-story home on Clinton Place collapsed.

BILL TOMPKINS / SPECIAL TO THE RECORD

Firefighters attending to a fellow firefighter who was injured Saturday in a blaze at a house on Clinton Place in Hackensack.

Fire officials said the fire broke out just after 6:10 p.m. and escalated quickly. Units from Hackensack, Teaneck, Bogota, Maywood, River Edge and Ridgefield Park responded.

The Teaneck firefighter, whose identity was not disclosed, was taken from the scene by emergency responders around 6:30 p.m. as flames surged at the rear of the building. The nature of his injuries was unclear.

Firefighters battled the blaze for more than three hours before bringing the fire under control.

Fire officials declined to comment Saturday on the suspected cause of the fire.

9:28 p.m. (ME):

Teaneck fire captain held overnight after falling through roof at BBQ tank explosion in Hackensack

Saturday, 26 May 2012 21:28 Jerry DeMarco

ONLY ON CVP: Teaneck Fire Capt. Paul Kearns was being kept overnight at Hackensack University Medical Center after falling through a roof while fighting a fast-moving blaze that destroyed a Hackensack house where a propane tank exploded during a barbecue early Saturday evening.

INSET: Paul Kearns (center)

Fifty firefighters from several companies responded to the three-alarm blaze at 265 Clinton Place, which, "from the looks of it, appears accidental," a Hackensack fire official told CLIFFVIEW PILOT tonight.

Kearns didn't appear to be critically injured, another firefighter said.

"Last report was that he has a back injury and is being held overnight for observation," he told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

Kearns, the co-founder of the the Bergen County Firefighters Pipe Band (BCFPB), has been with the Teaneck department more than 17 years.

An active member of the New Jersey Firefighter’s Mutual Benevolent Association, Kearns is a senior research associate at The Christian Regenhard Center for Emergency Response Studies.

He is also an adjunct professor of fire science at John Jay College.

Both are in New York City.

Two other people with minor injuries were treated following the 6:10 p.m. explosion and subsequent fire, which blew quickly through the house.

Kearns fell through a roof out back (shown in photo at right).

It took nearly four hours for firefighters to fully extinguish the blaze, which destroyed the house, which will have to be razed.

Flames quickly spread through the interior walls and along the second floor of the back of the building. Besides Teaneck, companies that assisted included Bogota, Maywood, Ridgefield Park and River Edge.

Hackensack and Bogota EMS also responded.

The fire began in a rear enclosed porch and then quickly spread through the 2½-story house.

Flames popped from various spots, eventually shooting through a hole that firefighters opened in the roof out front -- as well as through a second-floor window in back.

This video captures the danger of the fire, the removal of Kearns and the aftermath:

Video of 3-alarm fire