Four people, including a baby and a 14-year-old girl, have died after a fire engulfed a Lacey Township, NJ home – as horrified neighbors describe hearing their screams
- The fire occurred around 12:30 p.m. on a property in Lacey Township where a family of nine lived, spanning three generations.
- Jennifer Wright, 39, Alaina Wright, 34, a 14-year-old girl and a four-month-old baby died in the blaze while 67-year-old grandmother Brenda Wright was injured
- Horrified neighbors described the family’s screams and ran to the house to help them get out of harm’s way
A fire tore through a New Jersey home on Tuesday and killed four people, including a baby and a teenage girl.
The fire occurred at a property in Lacey Township where a family of nine, spanning three generations, lived around 12:30 p.m.
Jennifer Wright, 39, Alaina Wright, 34, a 14-year-old daughter and a four-month-old baby died in the blaze while 67-year-old grandmother Brenda Wright was injured.
Firefighters tried to save them but the roof collapsed and crews had to evacuate.
Horrified neighbors described the family’s screams and ran to the house to help pull them out of harm’s way.
“We heard screams. I was like, “Oh my God, the kids are still home,” said Robert Juska CBS News.
A fire tore through a New Jersey home on Tuesday and killed four people, including a baby and a teenage girl
The fire occurred at a property in Lacey Township where a family of nine, spanning three generations, lived around 12:30 p.m.
Jennifer Wright, 39, Alaina Wright, 34, a 14-year-old girl and a four-month-old baby died in the fire and 67-year-old grandmother Brenda Wright was injured
Juska said he ran to the burning house, climbed the fence and saw the injured grandmother.
“She was going out the upstairs window. She jumped, but she broke her leg,” he added.
She tried to get up and go back inside to save her family but passed out near the door, according to the neighbor.
“So we picked her up and brought her here and then she told us there were four other people in the house and I was like, ‘Who? And she was like “the kids,” Juska said.
Neighbor John Trusso added: ‘All the black smoke was coming over the trees and within minutes the whole neighborhood was covered.
‘Smoke everywhere. It was thick. It was bad, very scary.
Another panicked neighbor smashed an air conditioning unit in the house to try to get inside, but he couldn’t get through the door.
“There were so many things in the house. When I kicked the back door, it wouldn’t even open,’ he told News 12 New Jersey.
Neighbor Robert Juska said he heard screams and ran to the house to help get the family out
Juska said she saw the injured grandmother. She tried to get up and go back inside to save her family but she passed out near the door
Firefighters spent the day trying to tackle burning wood and melted window frames were left on the property
It was determined by local and state agency investigators that the fire started on the porch and “improperly discarded smoking materials cannot be ruled out as the cause of the fire.”
Grandmother Brenda was later taken to the community medical center and was in stable condition.
Firefighters spent the day trying to tackle burning wood and melted window frames were left on the property.
“This is an indescribable tragedy and our prayers go out to the loved ones of these victims,” Ocean County District Attorney Bradley Billhimer said in a statement.
It was determined by local and state agency investigators that the fire started on the porch and that “improperly discarded smoking materials cannot be ruled out as the cause of the fire.”
Prosecutor Billhimer said: “The cause of the fire was ruled accidental.”
