DOWNS: Nearly 60 people were displaced from their homes after three separate fires involved the Colony Oaks Apartment Complex in North Brunswick, over the last weekend in December. According to a News 12 report, the three fires all happened within days of each other. A dryer and a candle were the cause of the first two fires, that happened on Dec. 29th, officials said. The third happened on Dec. 31st and was under investigation.

UPS: Richard Burchelo has been promoted to deputy fire chief in Teaneck. Paul O'Connor is the township's new battalion chief. 

DOWNS: An early-morning crash involved an auto and a tanker truck which erupted into a ball of fire on Route 17 in Hasbrouck Heights, Jan. 8th. The flames spread to a one-story commercial building and 26 cars in a nearby lot. The tanker driver escaped from the truck and was not seriously injured, according to local news reports. 

UPS: Kyle Kovacs has been promoted to fire captain in Teaneck, and Mark de Pompeo was raised to fire lieutenant.                       

DOWNS: A 3-alarm fire involved an Ocean av. lumber yard structure in Lakewood, Jan. 8th. The building was said to be unoccupied; however, police said two people, believed to be squatters, suffered injuries and were taken to a local hospital, according to News 12. 

UPS: Recently, funding through the Robert E. & Marie Orr Smith Foundation supplied the Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department with new first aid kits and new AED's. 

DOWNS: A legendary pizzeria in Elizabeth was seriously damaged by fire, Jan. 6th. The century-old institution was closed indefinitely, according to NJ.com.   

UPS: Greg Corcoran has been promoted to fire lieutenant in Ridgewood. 

DOWNS: Four Fairfield businesses were lost due to a multiple-alarm fire that destroyed a large commercial building on Ray Place, Jan. 21st.

UPS: Michael Hall has been promoted to deputy fire chief in Paterson. 

DOWNS: A woman and her dog died as the result of a fire in a Boone av. home in Ewing, Jan. 23rd. First responders tried to get inside the dwelling, but flames were too intense, according to WPVI-TV.

UPS: Emerson Firefighter Joseph Fitzsimmons was recently recognized for 50-years of service.

DOWNS: Fire consumed a large warehouse on Nassau St. in North Brunswick, Jan. 24th. The fire, in a mattress factory, went to 8-alarms with mutual aid from as far as Ocean County. The fire was fueled in part by propane tanks and other combustible materials, officials said. Homes in the area were evacuated as a precaution. No injuries were reported.   

UPS: In January, Derrick Brown was promoted to Chief of the Orange Fire Department. According to Tap into East Orange, immediately after taking the oath as chief, the 24-year veteran dropped to his knee and proposed marriage to his girlfriend.

DOWNS: Lawrence Township firefighters responded to a house fire report on the campus of The Lawrenceville School, Jan. 22nd. Fire was showing from the second-floor of the dwelling on Humphrey's Drive. Local firefighters were assisted by units from Hamilton, Trenton, Ewing, Princeton, Robbinsville and Plainsboro, according to Mid-Jersey News.  

UPS: On December 6th, Hasbrouck Heights Fire Chief Mike Greco and Fire Official Robert Knobloch were traveling on the NJ Turnpike in two separate emergency vehicles. According to “The Gazette Newspaper,” a red car swerved to Greco's red chief's unit. He rolled down the window and a Bayonne woman was screaming, “Help!” Her three-year-old daughter suffered a seizure and was unconscious. Knowing that every second counted, the two fire vehicles formed a convoy. With lights and sirens activated, they escorted the woman to Hackensack University Medical Center, where medical personnel assisted the three-year-old, who made a full recovery. A reunion was held at the Hasbrouck Heights firehouse for all involved on December 15th. Channel 7 was there to cover the story. The mother, Vanessa Senquis, said, “it was nothing short of a holiday miracle.”