April 9, 2026 · Newark, New Jersey
Lister Ave Chemical Warehouse (Ironbound Section)
Under Investigation
The Fire
A three-alarm fire broke out at a chemical warehouse at 104 Lister Avenue in the Ironbound neighborhood of Newark. Crews were called at 12:53 p.m. and the fire was upgraded from two alarms to three within the hour.
More than 100 members of the Newark Fire Department responded, along with:
- New Jersey EMS Task Force
- New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (due to chemical contents)
- Seven ladder trucks were raised simultaneously at the height of operations
- A drone was deployed to locate and extinguish remaining hotspots
All 21 warehouse employees escaped safely. No injuries reported.
Context: Part of April 2026 Warehouse Fire Cluster
This fire was the third in a cluster of six significant warehouse fires across the United States in five days (April 7–11, 2026), following:
- April 7: Kimberly-Clark Distribution Center, Ontario, CA (confirmed arson — wage motive)
- April 8: Amazon fulfillment center, West Jefferson, OH (solar panels, not arson)
- April 9: Chemical warehouse, Newark, NJ (this incident)
Investigation Status
The cause of the fire is under investigation. No arson determination has been made public. No labor or wage connection has been reported.