FEBRUARY 20, 2015
ORANGE, NEW JERSEY
Two young children were killed in a fire that tore through
their home in Orange, outside Newark, on Friday night, according to news
reports.
Seven other occupants escaped the blaze, including two other
children who jumped from the upper levels of the home, according to the
Associated Press.
Neighbors who arrived on the scene first said they were
shocked to see two children trapped on a higher floor, waving for help.
“We saw smoke from the corner, and we came down here, and I
saw kids upstairs,” Darryl Mayfield, who ended up catching the children who
jumped, told NJ.com. “We saw a lady there and the kids, and we were telling her
to throw the kids, but she was scared. It took like 10 minutes, but the kids
jumped. Then she just went back in.”
Officials identified the victims as Zion Tony, 1, and his
older sister, Jayda McEachin, 6, both of whom were found on the third floor, according
to NJ.com. The children’s mother made it out of the home and was “very
distraught,” the news site reported.
Those inside the home said by the time they realized the
residence was on fire, around 8:30 p.m., they had little time to act. Mary
Lewter, who lives on the ground floor of the home, told NJ Advance Media Friday
that by the time she was woken up, she was blocked from going upstairs by
flames and smoke. She said firefighters prevented her from re-entering the
house once she was safe outside.
News reports said temperatures, which hovered around 10
degrees, may have contributed to the difficulty firefighters had battling the
blaze. New Jersey Transit brought a bus to the site to serve as a warming
center, according to the Associated Press.
“Our firefighters are out here,”Orange Mayor Dwayne Warren
told NJ. com. “We’ve called neighboring towns as well. It’s particularly tough
when you have frozen pipes, and the water freezes basically on impact, and so
it’s good that we have a rotation of firefighters going in and out of the unit.
It’s actually still flaming, and it’s been doing this for two hours now. So
this is serious.”
Acting Orange fire chief James Rothenberger said the
department arrived within two minutes of the call but their efforts were
hampered by the wind and chilly temperatures.
"Our guys made a great attempt," he said.
"They did everything they could to save their lives."
Mary Lewter, who lives on the ground floor of the home, told
NJ Advance Media Friday that she was woken up by her baby's father, who told
her to take the child out of the building. Lewter, a cousin to the two children
killed in the blaze, said she tried to go upstairs to help others, but was
blocked by flames and smoke. She was prevented from re-entering the home by
firefighters.
Darryl Mayfield, 24, who was passing by, said he caught two
children who jumped from the top floor window and onto a porch roof before
rolling down into his outstretched arms.
"We saw smoke from the corner and we came down here and
I saw kids upstairs," Mayfield said. "We saw a lady there and the
kids, and we were telling her to throw the kids, but she was scared. It took
like 10 minutes but the kids jumped. Then she just went back in."
NJ Transit brought in a bus to serve as a warming center on
the frigid evening, when temperatures hovered around 10 degrees.
Volunteers from the Red Cross also provided temporary
lodging, food and clothing to four families displaced by the fire.
The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and Orange Fire
Department are investigating the cause of the fire, according to NJ.com.