Latest news with #JillRauf
CBS News
12-05-2025
- CBS News
Video shows aftermath of deadly house fire in Washington Township, New Jersey
A criminal investigation continues after a fire destroyed a Gloucester County home, killing two people inside. In a social media post, Washington Township police said people called 911 to report an explosion early Sunday morning. The Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office does not believe that what happened at the home on Tranquility Court was an accident. They are looking into what exactly sparked the fire. "I just couldn't go back to sleep after this, and today I'm still very, very nervous about the whole situation," Suzanne Pinto, a neighbor, said. Neighbors living nearby in Washington Township, New Jersey, are still trying to make sense of the fire that took the lives of two people. "I thought, 'Oh my gosh, did something come down from the sky?' It was one massive explosion, and then all you heard was like, it sounded like firecrackers, some people say it sounded like gunshots," Pinto said. Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office believes fire was not accidental Police said it happened around 2 a.m. on Sunday. "It just jolted ya. I've never experienced that before; it was a huge explosion. It scared the heck out of me," Jill Rauf said as firefighters were working to extinguish the flames Sunday morning. Drone Watch 3 showed the charred rubble and what little is left Monday afternoon. The raging fire melted the siding off the immediate neighbors' homes, including Rauf's. "The house is gone! There's nothing left. It's gone and I don't know why," Rauf said. The Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office said a man and a woman were found dead inside. They have yet to be publicly identified as autopsy results are pending. However, Pinto said she has talked to the man who lived there several times. "Didn't know what goes on in his home, of course, but I saw him every day walking his dog," Pinto said. She continued, "He's been here about five years. He rents the home, he's not the homeowner." She and other neighbors believe he lived in the home alone. Prosecutors added that it was an isolated incident, and the house caught fire quickly. They are looking into whether an explosion happened as part of the ongoing criminal investigation.
CBS News
12-05-2025
- CBS News
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. on 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. A home was destroyed by a possible explosion and fire in Washington Township, New Jersey Washington Township Police Department "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. This is a developing story. CBS News Philadelphia will provide more details as new information becomes available.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Yahoo
Two bodies pulled from rubble after ‘intense' house fire in New Jersey suburb: ‘I was terrified'
Police pulled two bodies from the rubble of a New Jersey house that erupted in flames early Sunday. Officers responded to the home in Gloucester County around 2 a.m. Sunday morning. Two bodies were pulled from the wreckage caused by what police said is an 'intense fire,' NBC 10 Philadelphia reports. The bodies removed were a man and a woman, but police have yet to release any further identifying information. The fire was so intense that some neighbors believed it was an explosion. Susan Pinto told NBC 10 she was watching TV with her boyfriend when she heard a blast and saw flames shooting out of the home. She then called 911. "I was terrified, absolutely terrified," Pinto said. "Because, I never heard an explosion like that in my life and it just was, the house was, basically, burning to the ground very, very quickly." Neighbor Jimmy Gibson told 6 ABC he heard 'a real loud boom.' "The whole house was in flames already, that fast as soon as the explosion happened. I called 911 as I was walking out the house,' he said. The blaze also damaged the nearby home of Jill Rauf, who told ABC her husband and their dog escaped safely. "The flames were.. I've never seen anything like that before,' Rauf said. 'Engulfed. The house was engulfed.' Several agencies are investigating, including the Washington Township Police Department's Detective Bureau, Washington Township Fire Investigators, the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office, and the New Jersey Division of Fire Marshal.
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The Independent
11-05-2025
- The Independent
Two bodies pulled from rubble after ‘intense' house fire in New Jersey suburb: ‘I was terrified'
Police pulled two bodies from the rubble of a New Jersey house that erupted in flames early Sunday. Officers responded to the home in Gloucester County around 2 a.m. Sunday morning. Two bodies were pulled from the wreckage caused by what police said is an 'intense fire,' NBC 10 Philadelphia reports. The bodies removed were a man and a woman, but police have yet to release any further identifying information. The fire was so intense that some neighbors believed it was an explosion. Susan Pinto told NBC 10 she was watching TV with her boyfriend when she heard a blast and saw flames shooting out of the home. She then called 911. "I was terrified, absolutely terrified," Pinto said. "Because, I never heard an explosion like that in my life and it just was, the house was, basically, burning to the ground very, very quickly." Neighbor Jimmy Gibson told 6 ABC he heard 'a real loud boom.' "The whole house was in flames already, that fast as soon as the explosion happened. I called 911 as I was walking out the house,' he said. The blaze also damaged the nearby home of Jill Rauf, who told ABC her husband and their dog escaped safely. "The flames were.. I've never seen anything like that before,' Rauf said. 'Engulfed. The house was engulfed.' Several agencies are investigating, including the Washington Township Police Department's Detective Bureau, Washington Township Fire Investigators, the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office, and the New Jersey Division of Fire Marshal.
