BOGOTA, NJ - A senior resident was killed in a house fire in Bogota on the morning of November 18th. At 5:58 A.M., the Bogota Fire Department was dispatched to a reported house fire at 320 River Rd. Reports were coming in of possible occupants trapped. Engine 1 and Ladder 1 arrived first due to find heavy fire showing from a single-family house at the corner of River Road at West Main St. Members of Engine 1 made an aggressive attack, knocking down several rooms of fire. 

An unresponsive 74-year-old male who was in the home was rushed to Hackensack University Medical Center after firefighters and police officers performed CPR on the front lawn. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. Responders said a woman who lived with him in the home escaped and declined transport to a hospital.

The fire was brought under control in about one hour. Mutual aid from Englewood, Hackensack, Ridgefield Park and Teaneck assisted on scene while several other out-of-town companies covered firehouses. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Bergen County Arson Squad, along with Bogota police and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Identification, which collected evidence.