Boardinghouse fire leaves 1 dead, 15 homeless

SOUTH RIVER, N.J. - One person has died and 15 others were left homeless when a fast-moving fire destroyed a boardinghouse in Middlesex County.

Mayor John Krenzel said the three-alarm blaze at the Hotel Pershing started late Monday night. The three-story building had 24 rooms, and 19 were occupied.

Krenzel said some tenants were awakened by the smell of smoke and sounded the fire alarms. He said the person killed was a middle-aged woman who lived on the third floor and had trouble walking. Her name was not released.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but Krenzel said it was accidental. - AP