Deadly Camden fire being investigated

By Claudia Vargas, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Posted: June 30, 2012

Fire and law enforcement officials are investigating what caused the early morning Camden blaze that claimed the lives of two people and injured another.

The fire broke out sometime after 5 a.m. on the 1000 block of Thurman Street, quickly spreading to the adjacent homes. By the time firefighters arrived, the house was consumed in flames, Camden Fire Chief Michael Harper said.

Officials have not yet identified the two people who died in the fire. The name of the woman who escaped, possibly by jumping from a second-floor window, has not been released.

Neighbors woke up sometime after 5 a.m. to the smell of smoke and someone yelling.

"I heard of a lot of yelling and I thought it was a fight," Angel Cruz, who lives right around the corner, said in Spanish. When he came outside about 5:30 a.m., he saw the woman who had escaped from the house.

"She was lying on the floor, crying and saying that there were two other people inside," Cruz said.

The fire was brought under control by 6 a.m. The Fire Marshal's Office and Camden County Prosecutor's Office are investigating the cause.

The neighborhood is a busy drug-trade area but various neighbors said at least one of the victims who died was not involved with drugs.

The street where the fire occurred is lined with boarded-up homes. Hours later, as fire and police worked the scene, dozens of bystanders looked on.

Contact Claudia Vargas at 856-779-3917, cvargas@phillynews.com or follow her on Twitter @InqCVargas.

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