Two girls pulled from a burning house in Newark overnight were pronounced dead only hours after family had gathered to celebrate a birthday, officials and neighbors say.
The Eckert Avenue home was engulfed in massive flames after midnight, prompting a significant response from Newark firefighters. Video captured tall flames pouring out the side of the 2-story home.
At least one person was seen being wheeled from the home on a stretch by first responders.
Neighbors reported seeing people barely escaping out of the home. They said someone had jumped out of a window, another man had to crawl through the thick black smoke to reach safety.
A spokesperson for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office told NBC New York that two young girls, ages 6 and 8, were inside the home at the time of the fire did not survive.
According to investigators, witnesses said the girls were "playing with fire near a couch in the hallway." The fire started on the second floor where one of the girls was having a birthday party.
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Lynwood Duncan said he lives in the building as well. He had been home on Saturday but decided to leave and stay with his son because of noise from the birthday party.
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"Everything I own is gone," Duncan said. "I'm only here by the grace of God."
According to Duncan, he's complained to the building's landlord about potential code violations on the property. He said multiple families were living on the second floor of the residence.
"Nothing prepares you for anything like that," Shonda Simpson, a neighbor, said. "When it's a baby, when it's a child, that can have an impact."
The Red Cross responded to the residence and is said to be helping at least a dozen people impacted.
