Most tenants returned within hours, but damage to about 20 apartments left dozens unable to go home Monday.
PENNSAUKEN, N.J. — About 40 residents remained displaced Monday after a three-alarm fire forced hundreds of people from a 14-story Pennsauken apartment building, damaged about 20 units and sent one woman to a hospital, fire officials said.
The fire broke out around 2 a.m. Oct. 26 at Cooper River Plaza on McClellan Avenue. Firefighters found flames coming from a fifth-floor apartment when they arrived. Officials said a woman escaped from the fifth floor before crews reached the scene and was hospitalized. Her condition was not immediately released by fire authorities.
Firefighters brought the blaze under control in about 20 minutes, allowing many tenants to begin returning to the building several hours later. By about 6 a.m., most residents had been cleared to go back inside, while people whose apartments were damaged remained displaced.
The American Red Cross responded to assist residents who could not return home. Officials estimated that about 20 apartments, housing roughly 40 people, were affected by the fire. Authorities had not announced Monday morning how long those residents would be displaced or when the damaged units might again be occupied.
The evacuation also highlighted concerns about how residents react when alarms sound in a large residential building. Some tenants told reporters that previous alarms had sometimes been treated as false alarms. Resident Ira Altman told KYW Newsradio that he had sometimes waited before leaving during past alarms, but smoke and fumes during Monday’s fire made clear that the danger was real.
Pennsauken Fire Chief Jonathan Hutton urged residents to respond to every building alarm as though a fire is occurring. The early-morning blaze forced several hundred people outside as crews worked on the fifth floor and checked the rest of the building.
Officials said the fire affected at least 20 apartments. Hutton told NBC10 that investigators believed it began in the apartment occupied by the hospitalized woman before spreading to other areas. The cause itself had not been determined, and authorities continued investigating Monday.
No other injuries had been reported by fire officials in the initial aftermath. The fire department’s response shifted from containing the blaze to assessing damage and determining which portions of the building were safe for residents to reenter.
The displaced residents continued receiving assistance Monday as investigators examined the origin and cause of the fire. Officials had not announced a timetable for full reoccupation of the affected apartments.
Author note: Last updated Oct. 26, 2026.