Jul 5, 2002 2 min read

GLOUCESTER CITY, N.J. (AP) – A multistory duplex caught fire and collapsed early Thursday, killing at least two children and three firefighters who came to their rescue, authorities said. Another child, a sibling of the two who died, was missing. The roof collapse trapped eight firefighters inside the duplex, but five escaped, Acting Camden County Prosecutor James P. Lynch said.

The children’s mother was taken to Crozier-Chester Burn Center in Chester, Pa., said Greg Reinert, a spokesman for the Camden County Prosecutor’s office. The woman’s condition was not immediately available.

Ten other people, including eight firefighters, were taken to Cooper Hospital-University Medical Center in Camden, where they were being treated for unspecified injuries.

Gov. James E. McGreevey stopped at the Camden hospital on his way to the fire scene.

The fire was out by midmorning, and rescuers used backhoes to clear debris while they searched for victims. When a firefighter’s body was removed about 8 a.m., police and firefighters showed their respect by lining up several rows deep. The night before, several city firefighters took part in a Fourth of July parade that passed in front of the duplex.

Authorities said the fire was being investigated as a criminal incident, but there was no evidence it had been deliberately set. The victims’ names were not immediately released.

Neighbors said the home was rented by a family that had lived there less than a year.

Chris Johnston, who lives several doors down from the three-story duplex, said the right half of the home was completely engulfed in flames soon after the fire broke out. Johnston said he could feel the intense heat as flames shot about 50 feet in the air.

Tina Vessella said she went to her sister’s house after hearing about the fire and stayed up all night worrying, “especially knowing that there were children in there.”

Witnesses said the flames melted aluminum siding on John’s Pizzeria, which is across the street, and damaged a nearby traffic light.

Independence Day festivities in Gloucester City were canceled. Holiday events in nearby Mount Ephraim also were canceled because an injured firefighters is a member of the town’s fire department.

Gloucester City is about five miles south of Philadelphia.