Husband, wife killed after fire tears through Passaic, New Jersey apartment complex
PASSAIC, New Jersey (WABC) -- A husband and wife are dead after a three-alarm fire tore through an apartment in Passaic, New Jersey Sunday morning.
It happened at a two-story garden apartment complex on Spruce Street.
A friend tells Eyewitness News that the couple was awake around 9:15 a.m. and that the man was cooking breakfast for his wife in the kitchen when the raging fire broke out -- killing both.
People living in the building say they smelled smoke, saw the flames -- and then got out.
"I just hear someone holler 'fire' and I came downstairs and I kept hollering 'fire, fire fire!' and then everybody started coming out. I got so weak. I could hardly stand up, so," said Eloise.
Firefighters positioned themselves on the top of the building, throwing water on the fire from the second floor.
Passaic Fire Chief Patrick Trentacost says that flames in the ground-floor apartment were contained.
Friends say the family had already been through so much -- the couple who was killed, along with others, had just last week gathered for another relative's funeral.
"Right now as a community we're coming together to be there for this family in the most tragic Sunday morning in the City of Passaic," said Mayor Hector Lora.
The Red Cross says they are helping 10 families following the damage.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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