Woman dead, adult son injured after Hillside, New Jersey fire
HILLSIDE, New Jersey (WABC) -- A 70-year-old woman died and her adult son was injured after a house fire scorched the single-family dwelling.
Heavy fire broke out in their home at 1531 Center St. at around 5:30 a.m. on Friday.
Intense flames melted the siding on the house next door -- but firefighters managed to keep the fire from spreading. The home's top floor was badly damaged.
A woman was discovered dead in a second-floor bedroom.
Neighbors identified the victim as Marie Wright and said she had been isolated in her room the past few years.
Her 50-year-old son was taken to the hospital after suffering smoke inhalation. He is stable.
"Many of the firefighters involved in battling this blaze had been working other fires in the area, so mutual aide was needed to assist in the efforts to keep things from getting worse. In addition, the emergency personnel was dealing with brutally cold temperatures. The fire department worked as quickly as possible to bring this blaze under control," said Hillside Deputy Chief Felipe Sousa.
No firefighters were hurt and fire marshals along with the Union County Prosecutors Office are investigating the cause of the fire.
It was a busy 24 hours for firefighters in Union County with other fires in Roselle Park and Linden as well as Hillside.
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