Fire sweeps through 4 homes in NJ

EAST ORANGE, N.J. - An early-morning fire swept through four houses in Essex County, New Jersey, on Wednesday.

The fire broke out inside a vacant house on Amherst Street in East Orange just after 4:15 a.m. and then quickly spread to three neighboring homes, authorities said.

The adjacent homes were occupied. A dozen people from three families evacuated the homes, a spokesperson for the city said. The Red Cross and a community-based emergency response team are helping those families.

Around 80 firefighters responded from fire departments in East Orange, Newark, Bloomfield, Montclair, and Orange.

No one was hurt.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire.