WEST DEPTFORD, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — Officials say one person is dead and at least four people, including a baby, are injured after two homes went up in flames Thursday morning in West Deptford, Gloucester County.
The identity of the 54-year-old woman killed in the fire has not been released.
The four injured include a 1-month-old baby, a 26-year-old man, a 31-year-old woman and a 57-year-old man, all of whom were transported to Cooper University Hospital in Camden. The elder of the two men injured in the blaze was airlifted to Crozer Keystone Medical Center in Chester for more intensive treatment.
There are no reports of injuries to firefighters.
Two families lost just about everything in this fast-moving fire. Both homes, not more than 15 feet apart, on Tatum Street between Colonial Avenue and Elberne Avenue, were completely destroyed and collapsed after a fire jumped from one to the other.
Officials say emergency calls came in around 4 a.m., and a fire company up the street was on scene within minutes. However, by the time they arrived, the fire was raging and burning so hot it even caused some damage to the fire trucks.
Hoses from dozens of fire trucks were stretched across the street as crews from surrounding towns worked through the early morning hours to put out the fire. With water rushing everywhere in the low temperatures, ice quickly formed, and a salt truck passed through the area to keep the surface safe for neighbors.
"It’s a shame. I feel sorry for the families," said Bill Martin, who lives up the street.
"I only knew about it because I got a phone call from a friend, because my daughter lives a couple of houses down. And they were asking how my daughter is. I said, 'What do you mean?' She said, 'The fire on Tatum.'"
A third home received minor damage.
A backhoe is digging through the charred lumber as investigators search for information that will help them figure out what caused this.
There is no word yet on what caused the fire.
Stay with KYW Newsradio for more on this developing story.