Two kids died sadly at a birthday party in New Jersey on Sunday. The girls were “playing with fire” during the party, according to the police.
The six- and eight-year-olds were declared dead at the Newark home just after midnight. Eight other people were hurt in the fire, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Prosecutors said in a press statement that witnesses told them that one of the girls’ birthday party was on the second floor of the house. “People who saw the girls said they were playing with fire in the hallway next to a couch.”
The police found that the fire started on the second floor and spread to the third floor.
The source and cause of the fire are still being looked into by prosecutors, they said.
The Eckert Avenue house in the Weequahic neighborhood of the city is home to three families.
This reporter talked to Shonda Simpson, who lives next door and said that when the fire broke out, there was “a lot of screaming, crying, and hollering.”
As soon as the first rescuers got here, they were joined by our mayor, who stayed out all night, Simpson said. “Even though our first responders did their best, we still lost two babies.”
County officials said the two kids were found inside the house “severely burned.”
Tenant Lynwood Duncan told 1010 WINS radio that he had told the landlord that the building was not up to code because of things like furniture blocking the hallway.
He said, “There were several families living on the porch.” “They said they were having a birthday party yesterday.” They took all the furniture out and put it in the stairs because of the birthday party and other things.
“Many thanks for being at my son’s house. If I had been at home, I would not have been able to leave.”
