The authorities say a fire that ran through a neighborhood in South New Jersey, killing two young sisters, apparently began in their duplex
A fire that ran through a neighborhood in the south of New Jersey, killing two young sisters and burning six houses, apparently began in a duplex where the girls’ family lived, authorities said on Friday.
The cause of the fire in Millville remains under investigation, but it does not seem to be suspicious, said the city chief of the city, John Wettstein.
The children’s father was injured in the fire, which took several hours to control after being reported for the first time around 11 pm on Wednesday. Two houses had already been wrapped in flames when firefighters arrived, and the fire soon spread to a third. The heat was so intense that it melted part of a fire truck and a parked car.
The initial efforts of firefighters were hindered because a nearby hydrant did not work, Wettstein said. The teams had to run about 800 feet (approximately 240 meters) from hose to another hydrant and almost that length to one third to combat the fire, which burned for several hours before it was controlled.
The bodies of the girls, aged 8 and 10, were found on Thursday afternoon in the middle of the debris, city officials said. Their names have not been released. His father was being treated in a hospital for injuries that do not endanger life. His name has not been released either
Around two dozen residents were displaced by fire. A woman said she and her three young children escaped safely from her house in flames because the fire woke her boyfriend, who could put them safe.
Millville is about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Atlantic City.
