Massive fire damages homes in North Plainfield, NJ

NORTH PLAINFIELD, New Jersey (WABC) -- A large, three-alarm fire leveled one home and damaged two others in North Plainfield, Somerset County.

It happened around 2:40 a.m. Wednesday at 185 Maple Avenue.

Eyewitness News is told the blaze broke out at a house under construction.

Video from the scene showed massive flames engulfing the home. The flames spread to two other homes.

The wives in both homes were awakened as the fire grew started and were able to alert their families, getting everyone out safely.

"Crackling of fire... well, crackling, big pops," said one. "And I opened my eyes, and the room was lit up like the sun was shining, and I felt heat. And I just yelled to everybody, you know, 'There's a fire next door! We gotta get out!'"

The first home collapsed, and the blaze went to three alarms.

"It's the middle of the night, and there's only limited crews on duty," said North Plainfield Chief William Eaton. "So there's a lot of mutual aid, fire departments, that were involved to control the fire."

It took crews an hour and half to get the situation under control.

One firefighter was hurt. That person was taken to Somerset Medical Center and treated. There was no immediate word on the firefighter's condition.

No one else was injured.

An investigation is underway into what led to the fire.