On Sunday, October 20, a fire engulfed a Newark, New Jersey home during a birthday party. Unfortunately, two girls, ages 6 and 8, died as a result of the fire, one of them being the birthday girl. The girls suffered severe burns and first responders were unable to resuscitate them both. According to PEOPLE, there are at least other 15 people who suffered burns.
Videos by Wide Open Country
According to CBS News, the two girls - who remain unidentified - were playing with fire on the second floor of the residence. At around 12:30 a.m., while they continued playing, the fire began spreading throughout the home's second and third floors. Immediately, Shonda Simpson, one of their neighbors, called 911.
"First responders were here within minutes, and they came strong, along with our mayor, who was out here all night," said Simpson. "Despite the efforts of our first responders we still lost two babies."
The fire became a source of chaos in the New Jersey home. Another neighbor, Adrianna Santos, described how people reacted to the fire. "I saw firefighters running, I saw families running for their lives, evacuating," said Santos. "People were crying, people were screaming. It was a whole bunch of commotion."
Once first responders arrived, they found the two girls unresponsive, having suffered severe burns. After unsuccessful attempts of resuscitation, they were pronounced dead on the spot. More than 15 people were treated for burn wounds, but first responders were in shock after discovering the girls's bodies.
"The firefighters were visibly shaken up," said Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. "Two children dead in a fire is a horrible experience. You could feel that in the air."
A Hazardous Place
One of the residents, Lynwood Duncan, told 1010 WINS that he had complained before about code violations. These include multiple families living on the porch and the dangerous placement of furniture, blocking the hallway. "With the birthday party and stuff, they brought all the furniture out, and they put it in the stairwell. Thank God I was at my son's in the house, because if I was home, I wouldn't have been able to get out," said Duncan.
Dalisa Anthony, a neighbor, talked to ABC 7 and stated that she had contacted the Mayor's Office to complain on multiple occasions. However, according to her, the call was dropped or no one ever came to check the house.
Mayor Baraka stated that his office hadn't received any official complaints. "The only calls we've ever gotten from that property were garbage and debris calls," he said.
