An elderly man and woman had to be rescued from one of the houses on West Runyon Street in the city's South Ward
NEWARK -- At least 20 people were displaced after a four-alarm fire tore through a row of multi-family homes in the city's South Ward Sunday night.
According to Capt. Derek Glenn of the Newark Department of Public Safety, firefighters were called to the 300 block of West Runyon Street around 8:40 p.m., where they found the flames that began in one home beginning to damage two others.
Glenn said a man walking through the area told authorities he encountered an elderly woman fleeing the fire, and rushed inside to help rescue her husband from a second-floor apartment.
The blaze took more than two hours to extinguish, and embers damaged another building on nearby Millington Street, according to Glenn.
The American Red Cross was on scene Sunday to help the five families that were displaced.
MORE: Essex County News
Glenn said one firefighter was injured during the response, but was able to be treated at the scene.
Investigators had yet to determine what caused the fire as of about 10:30 p.m.
Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.