Three people were found dead after a house fire in Wayne, New Jersey, prosecutors confirmed to News 4 Tuesday.
Few details on the Jackson Avenue fire, which broke out around 6:15 p.m. Monday, neighbors said. Neighbors described hearing an explosion that gutted the rear of the house in the Wayne hills section of town.
"My wife was outside with the dogs in the backyard, she heard a loud bang and glass shattering," said neighbor Joe Sasso. "She immediately came to the front of our building, starting running toward the house calling 911."
Sasso said other neighbors also ran into the house, trying to any survivors, but came up empty.
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Two sources with knowledge of the investigation said the victims included a man in his 60s, his daughter and a man the sources describe as the daughter's boyfriend. They say the two men were found in an upstairs room, while the adult daughter — later identified as Katherinne Gutierrez by a neighbor — was found in a basement. Photos show her as the mother of a 4-year-old, who was not at the home at the time of the blast.
The explosion and fire were hot enough to scorch the side of a neighbor's garage and melt part of her fence.
The fire appeared to have been as fed, but not official cause of the fire had been released. The investigation is ongoing, with federal ATF agents arriving at the scene to assist.
