Newark, NJ – A house fire early Sunday morning claimed the lives of two young girls in the Weequahic section of Newark. The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office has revealed that the 6-year-old and 8-year-old were playing with fire near a couch during a birthday celebration when the blaze broke out on Eckert Avenue.
The fire quickly engulfed the residence which had three families living inside the home. The two girls were on the second floor where they had been in attendance for the birthday party, and were trapped inside.
Neighbor, Shonda Simpson, said:
“First responders were here within two to three minutes, along with our mayor who was out here all night. Despite the efforts of our first responders, we still lost two babies.”
Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Arson Unit detectives arrived to a disturbing scene. The two girls were severely burned, laying on the ground and attempts to resuscitate them proved futile.
Simpson continued:
“Our community is really hurting right now. Normally there is constant traffic up and down the street — people are in their homes, they’re hurting right now. We’re trying to process what’s going on and decide where we are going and decide where we are going to go as a community.”
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, said in a phone interview with NJ Advance Media:
“It’s just horrible. The firefighters were visibly shaken up. Two children dead in a fire is a horrible experience. You could feel that in the air.”
Witnesses to the tragedy told police on the scene that the birthday party was for one of the girls and was taking place on the second floor of the home. The pair “were playing with fire near a couch in the hallway.”
Other residents of the home were treated for burns. Residents of the building next door have also been displaced due to the fire.
Another neighbor from a block away, Adrianna Santodria said she had seen the family celebrating on the porch earlier in the day before the fire broke out:
“I walked down to Eckart, I saw people running, I saw firefighters running, I saw families running for their lives, evacuating. People were crying, people were screaming. It was a whole bunch of commotion.”
Linwood Duncan, who lived in the now destroyed home had spent the night at his son’s because of the birthday party and not wanting to be bothered by the noise:
“There were two different families on the sun porch and there was another family that lived on the second floor. I’m only here by the grace of God, because they had took the furniture out of the front room on the second floor and put it inside the hallway. So I wouldn’t have been able to get downstairs. I thank God that I’m here, but I’ve lost everything.”
The Red Cross said that the impacted families of the Newark house fire were getting assistance from temporary lodging, food and other items. If anyone wishes to donate to the victims, reach out to Red Cross for information.
