Serious Stuff

Heat kills people.

Fifty firefighters were overcome by high temperatures Friday while battling a huge blaze in New Jersey, officials said, amid a heat wave suspected in the deaths of at least 13 people across the country in the last week.

Firefighter after firefighter wilted under heavy gear in temperatures that soared near 100 degrees as they battled the blaze, which was tearing through several buildings — including three homes — early Friday afternoon, NBC New York reported.

Twenty-three firefighters were transported to hospitals with heat-related conditions, emergency management officials told NBC New York. Twenty-seven more firefighters were treated on the scene for heat exhaustion.