A firefighter in Clifton was sent to the hospital Monday morning after a small dog in a burning house bit him.

The fire started on the second floor of the house, which has been rented by a family of five for the past three months, said Fire Chief Kevin McCarthy. Nobody was home at the time of the fire.

The firefighter who was bitten was sent to St. Joseph's University Medical Center. An older, unidentified daughter, who does not live at the home, said she had received a call from her mother, telling her to go to the house to check.

During the height of the fire there were about 30 firefighters, McCarthy said, many coming to relieve firefighters at the end of their shift. The Passaic Fire Department was on scene to assist, and the North Arlington Rescue team was present to replenish air supply.

"It started around 7:30 a.m.," said neighbor James Amoh. "There was smoke coming out of the second floor. They [a neighbor] called the Fire Department and they came quickly."

The house is just behind School No. 4 in Clifton, and officials assured parents and children entering that the school was not on fire.

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