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Two bodies pulled from rubble after ‘intense’ house fire in New Jersey suburb: ‘I was terrified’

The intense flames erupted around 2 a.m., terrifying neighbors

Katie Hawkinson
in Washington, D.C.
Sunday 11 May 2025 23:54 BST
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House explodes in Washington Township as neighbors wake up to huge fireball

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.

The bodies have yet to be publicly identified
The bodies have yet to be publicly identified (NBC10 Philadelphia)

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.

Neighbors reported hearing an explosion
Neighbors reported hearing an explosion (Washington Township Police Department)

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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