Two girls died in a New Jersey home Sunday after playing with fire at a birthday party for one of the victims.
The unidentified children were 6 and 8 years old, according to Essex County prosecutors. It’s not clear which girl was celebrating her birthday.
Officials said the girls were playing with fire near a hallway sofa on the second floor of a three-family home in Newark around 12:30 a.m. before flames spread to the building’s third floor.
“Upon arrival, detectives discovered two young girls, ages 6 and 8, lying unresponsive on the ground, their bodies severely burned,” prosecutors said. “Despite efforts to resuscitate the victims, the two young girls were pronounced dead at the scene.”
The deadly incident remains under investigation. At least 15 people were treated for burn wounds related to the “horrible” blaze, according to NJ. Com.
“The firefighters were visibly shaken up,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka told that media outlet. “Two children dead in a fire is a horrible experience. You could feel that in the air.”
Neighbor Adrianna Santos said she and her mom witnessed the early morning tragedy.
“I saw firefighters running, I saw families running for their lives, evacuating,” Santos told NJ.com. “People were crying, people were screaming. It was a whole bunch of commotion.”
Birthday decorations reportedly still hung from the burned home’s porch Sunday afternoon. Another neighbor described the young victims as “beautiful little girls” who played with her own daughter. One child attending the celebration said the festivities moved indoors after the nighttime weather turned chilly.
Neighbor Dalisa Anthony told ABC News she previously tried to raise concerns with the mayor’s office that at least 10 people seemed to be living on the home’s second floor.
“The call was dropped,” Anthony claimed.
The prosecutor’s office didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry about the number of people residing in the Eckert Avenue home.