Police say New Jersey house fire that killed two was not accidental
The Gloucester County prosecutor’s office said the details of the explosion are ‘suspicious’ but did not elaborate further
A house fire and explosion in New Jersey that appears to have killed two people is being treated as suspicious, according to police.
Police are still investigating the home that exploded in Washington Township, and said in a statement that the Gloucester County prosecutor's office is considering the incident "not accidental."
The bodies of a man and a woman were removed from the debris of the home, according to ABC News.
The prosecutor's office told local broadcaster WPVI that their deaths are "suspicious" but did not provide further details.
According to Fox 29 Philadelphia, autopsies have been ordered for the man and woman found in the debris of the home, and the case is being treated as a criminal investigation.
The house was destroyed at 2:02 am, prompting numerous emergency calls from neighbors who heard the explosion. A fire broke out in the immediate area as a result of the explosion, but Washington Township firefighters extinguished the flames shortly after they arrived on the scene.
"Responding officers arrived at Tranquility Court and observed that the residence was fully engulfed in flames and appeared to have been heavily damaged by an apparent explosion," Washington Township police said in a statement.
A resident who lives near the house, Jimmy Gibson, told WPVI that he heard a "real loud boom" the night of the incident.
"The whole house was in flames... as soon as the explosion happened," he said.
WPVI's reporting revealed that at least one other house nearby and a car in the area were damaged by the explosion.
Another neighbor, Jill Rauf, told WPVI that she and her husband fled their home with their dog after they heard the explosion. She said she saw the house engulfed in flames when she ran outside.