Heartbroken father remembers two daughters killed in duplex fire in South Jersey
Two sisters were tragically killed in a duplex fire late Wednesday night in Cumberland County, New Jersey.
Family members identified them as 13-year-old Valery Mariana Cardona Gómez and 11-year-old Gissel Samanta Cardona Gómez.
"I feel in shock," Jhon Alexander Rodríguez Hernández, the father of the girls, said in Spanish.
Rodríguez said when the fire broke out at the family's home on South 4th Street in Millville, he and his girlfriend grabbed their 2-year-old twins, Rousse and Ahaia, and ran outside. Rodríguez said he thought his older daughters were on their way out, but then the duplex collapsed and the sisters were trapped.
"He tried to do the best he can do like a father," Clara Verano, a family member of the girls, serving as an interpreter, said. "And all the fathers tried to do the best for [their] kids."
The raging fire engulfed six homes and left 21 people with nowhere to live. The community remains shaken.
"It's something very unusual, and I give the fire company a lot of credit because I think they had a lot of problems with the wind," Bob Frantz from Millville said.
In the midst of tragedy is a glimmer of hope. Abby Soto and her mom are collecting clothes, shoes and toiletries in the lobby of their batting cage facility, Phenom Factory, to help the families affected.
"We're just trying to get as much as we can, the kind of stuff that you would give to your college kid," Soto said.
Dozens of people streamed into the business Friday morning to drop off donations.
"When you feel like God puts something on your heart, that you should be stepping up and helping somebody, you should do it," Tina Rocco, the owner of glass manufacturer Rocco Scientific, said.
Family members of the sisters said they are grateful for the community's support as they cherish the memory of the two sisters.
"Valery was a girl who was very artistic and liked to sing and paint," Rodríguez said. "Gissel was a girl who was always very studious and mature."
Other businesses have come forward to support the Rodríguez family during this time of mourning. One even offered to help with arrangements for the sisters.
Millville Fire Chief John Wettstein said it could take days to figure out the cause of the fire.
