A New Jersey home exploded overnight, killing two people in a fiery flash that rocked a sleepy neighborhood, officials said.
The bodies of a woman and a man, who had not been publicly identified, were recovered from the remains of the home Sunday along Tranquility Court in Washington Township in Gloucester County, NBC 10 reported.
Neighborhood doorbell cameras captured the moment the South Jersey home suddenly exploded around 2 a.m., with the house completely engulfed in flames in just minutes as first responders raced to the scene.
Officials described the emergency as an “intense fire,” with neighbors confirming that a loud blast rang throughout the neighborhood as they woke up to see flames shooting in all directions from the home.
“I was terrified, absolutely terrified,” neighbor Susan Pinto told the local outlet. “Because I never heard an explosion like that in my life, and it just was, the house was, basically, burning to the ground very, very quickly.”
Local resident Jimmy Gibson said he could not believe how fast the whole house went up in flames after the initial explosion, which he described as “a real loud boom.”
“The whole house was in flames already, that fast as soon as the explosion happened,” he told ABC 6.
Two nearby houses were also damaged in the fire, including the home of Jill Rauf, who said half of the siding on her house melted off in the extreme heat.
While officials did not confirm the identities of the deceased, neighbors told local outlets that the man they believe who died in the home was a “nice guy” who could always be seen walking with his dog around the neighborhood.
The cause of the fire has yet to be confirmed, with investigation still ongoing.
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