Pickle King destroyed by early morning fire that continues to rage in Paterson

Lori Comstock, New Jersey Herald
·2 min read

A third-alarm fire at a pickle making business in Paterson early Saturday morning has injured one firefighter as crews continue to work to control the flames, said the city's deputy chief.

The Paterson Fire Department received a call about a fire at 220 Ellison St. at 6:03 a.m., according to Deputy Chief Andrew Ricciardi. When crews arrived on scene, the fire was confirmed and within minutes, the roof of the Pickle King had collapsed, Ricciardi said.

Crews were still working to put out the blaze as of 10 a.m. and will likely continue on-scene throughout the day. Ricciardi said due to the collapsed roof of the one-story building, there will be big pockets of fire that will need to be continuously extinguished.

A city firefighter suffered a hand injury and was taken to a nearby hospital after he fell off a ladder while opening up one of the warehouse's roll-down doors, Ricciardi said. The injury was not life-threatening and he will be OK, he added.

The Pickle King, which according to records online has been providing a variety of pickles to the food industry since 1958, offers various pickled products such as sweet gherkins and pickle chips, as well as a range of other food items including peppers and olives.

Flames and plums of smoke can be seen from the Pickle Factory, located behind the Panther Academy, a high school, in Paterson on Saturday morning, March 25, 2023.
Flames and plums of smoke can be seen from the Pickle Factory, located behind the Panther Academy, a high school, in Paterson on Saturday morning, March 25, 2023.

The business was last operating on Friday and no one was inside on Saturday, Ricciardi said. There has been a history of squatting conditions in other portions of the building, which has been vacant, he said, but due to the severity of the fire, crews were unable to immediately check the building's interior.

Panther Academy, or P-TECH Panther, a public science- and tech-based high school whose building is adjacent to the Pickle King was not damaged, Ricciardi said.

City of Paterson firefighters work to douse the flames from a fire that tore through the Pickle King factory on Ellison Street in Paterson early Saturday morning, March 25, 2023.
City of Paterson firefighters work to douse the flames from a fire that tore through the Pickle King factory on Ellison Street in Paterson early Saturday morning, March 25, 2023.

Jerry Speziale, the city's public safety director, said there will be concerns that the school will smell of smoke and it remains unclear what sort of rehab will take place inside the building, such as the installation of fans, and if students will be able to return on Monday. The chief of school security for Paterson Public Schools has been contacted.

The cause of the fire and where it originated will be determined following a "thorough" investigation, Ricciardi said.

This story will be updated when additional information becomes available.

Lori Comstock can be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Paterson NJ fire rips through pickle company