Six from the same family were killed when a fire broke out at a single-family home in New Jersey on Sunday around 4 a.m.
By the time firefighters arrived, flames were “already shooting out the window,” a spokesman for the Newark Fire Department said, Fox News reported.
The victims included Salome Stewart, 58; her husband Reginald, 58; Salome’s sister, Natasha Kinsale, 47; Noreen Johnson, 43; her son Stephen Sydney, 15; and Zion Forbes, 11. The Stewarts and Ms. Kinsale live in the house, while the other three traveled to visit for a Father’s Day event.
Iris Sydney, Stephen’s grandmother, said he and his mother had actually traveled to the home from Crawford, Ga., so he could pay his respects to his deceased father during a special ceremony at the local church, Fox News reported. The deceased, Desmond Sydney, died during a bike accident a couple years ago.
“I can’t believe this,” Ms. Sydney said, Fox News reported. “But I’m telling you — I buried my husband … I buried my son, and now this is my grandchild. I feel it. I feel it in my heart. … This is a sad day for the Sydney family. It is.”
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but foul play is not suspected.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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