New Jersey woman unaccounted for after running into burning home for pets left behind, fire officials say
By CHRISTINE SLOAN
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HILLSIDE, New Jersey (WCBS) — Just two days before Thanksgiving, a family in New Jersey is dealing with unimaginable pain.
One person is still unaccounted for, following a fire that tore through a home in Hillside.
A neighbor captured on video the devastating moment flames engulfed the home on Conant Street.
“It’s a terrible fire,” Dorian Guzman said.
The blaze broke out just after 3 a.m. on Tuesday. Fire officials said three members of the same family were able to escape, but that one of them, a woman, went back into the flames to save a pet.
“She went back inside to get the dog and she never come back out,” friend Victor Manuel said.
“And, unfortunately, that was the last time the person was seen,” Hillside Deputy Fire Chief Keith Ryan said at the scene.
Neighbors said it’s just heartbreaking.
“Very good people. Very nice people,” Manuel said.
Manuel said the home had been under renovations for weeks.
“They just finished doing some work on the house. The house is a beautiful house,” he said.
Now, two days before Thanksgiving, fire investigators were combing through the charred structure and a burnt out car, trying to determine what caused the tragedy.
Authorities said the fire was so intense that, right now, they can’t determine where the fire started.
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