Morning Fire Shuts Down Part of Ridgewood Ave.

An electrical fire on the exterior of Gilsenan and Company's downtown office briefly shut down a block of East Ridgewood Avenue and cleared neighboring stores Wednesday morning.

Ridgewood Police Officer Rosario Vaccarella noticed smoke coming off the side of the building shortly after 9 a.m., prompting police to evacuate the realty office’s one occupant and clear adjacent buildings, according to Chief John Ward.

Smoke and flames emanated from a wood awning over the entrance to the office, caused by an apparent electrical short, Ridgewood Fire Chief Jim Van Goor said.

An electrician had been called to the building earlier in the morning after the circuit tripped, authorities said. The fire in the awning, which contained lights, reportedly began after the electrician flipped the circuit back on.

"By the time he came outside it was on fire," Van Goor said. "The whole outside structure was in flames."

Firefighters, who had the blaze under control in roughly 20 minutes, were seen hosing down pieces of the awning that had been removed to the side of the road, leaving a charred outline on the brick office.

“Everybody did a good job, knocked it down and worked together well,” Ward said.

The street remained closed to traffic between Maple Avenue and Cottage Place for nearly an hour as emergency responders cleared the scene.