FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Raymond Worrall

PHONE: (201) 795-6400 Ext. 6737

EMAIL:  rworrall@hcpo.org

DATE: Sunday, March 5, 2017

ONE FATALITY IN UNION CITY APARTMENT FIRE

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez released the following information:

On Saturday, March 4, 2017, at approximately 1 a.m., the Union City Police Department received a 911 call reporting a fire on Summit Avenue in Union City. Police Officers responding to the fire found that all occupants of 1404 Summit Avenue were accounted for except 1-year-old child. After the fire was placed under control, investigators found that the child, Eddie Gonzalez Jr. had died in the fire. Eddie would have turned 2-years-old in several weeks.

Also injured in the fire was Eddie’s father, Eddie Gonzalez, Sr., who was transported to St. Barnabas Medical Center where he remains in critical but stable condition. Aaliyah Mercado, Eddie’s mother, was taken to Hoboken University Hospital where she was treated and released.

A preliminary investigation has determined that the building of origin for the fire was at 1404 Summit Avenue. Buildings located at 1400, 1402, 1406 and 1408 on Summit Avenue also sustained fire, smoke and water damage. The fire also spread to Saints Joseph and Michael Church on Central Avenue in Union City.

The investigation into the origin and cause of the fire is still pending and anyone with additional information is asked to contact the Union City Police Department at 201-348-5790 or the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201-915-1345.