2 killed in house explosion and fire in Washington Township, New Jersey, prosecutor's office says
The Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office said a criminal investigation is underway after two people were killed in an explosion and fire at a Washington Township home.
Washington Township police said a loud explosion prompted multiple 911 calls just after 2 a.m. Sunday near Tranquility Court and Orion Way.
A home on Tranquility Court was fully on fire when officers arrived, and the flames had spread to part of a neighboring house. Washington Township fire crews worked for about half an hour to get the blaze under control, according to Gloucester County officials.
The prosecutor's office confirmed to CBS News Philadelphia later Sunday morning that two people, a man and a woman, were killed in the explosion. While investigators don't believe the explosion and fire were accidental, the prosecutors' office said it appears this was an isolated incident and there's no ongoing threat to the general public. No one else was injured.
"It just jolted you," said Jill Rauf, who lives in the neighborhood. "I've never experienced that before. It was a huge explosion. It was very scary."
Rauf said half the siding on her own home melted off.
"You never think anything like this could happen," she said. "You just don't expect it. And the house that was standing next door, now it's gone."
Neighbors as far as two blocks away say they felt the force. A woman who lives across the street said something from the incident led to a hole in one of her front windows.
"It's terrifying," she said. "You think people are just living their lives, and you don't ever really know what they're going through."
Police, along with fire investigators, the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office and the New Jersey Fire Marshal's Office, are all actively working to determine what led to the explosion.
