2 dead after 3-alarm fire tears through Paterson home

A three-alarm fire killed two people in Paterson, New Jersey on Friday morning.

The flames broke out at a two and a half story home on North 7th Street just after 2:30 a.m.

A 69-year-old man and a 28-year-old man managed to get out of the burning home which went to four alarms.

Two women, both in their 60s, died in the fire. One of them, at one point, had been listed as unaccounted for. It's believed she had already perished.

One woman described fleeing the fire with her pets. She said her dog alerted her to the fire.

"He was barking so much, I got out of bed and I opened the door and all of the side of the house was on fire," said Lia Lamela, a resident. "I ran back in just to grab him and my cats and ran back out, and the whole walkway to get outside to the sidewalk was completely in flames. I couldn't get in front of the house, I had to wait in the back for the firefighters to come."

One of her cats is missing.

"Everything is gone. Everything everything. Kitchen upstairs the bedroom. Our bedroom. All the tiles, ceiling, all of it," said George Martinez, an impacted neighbor. "It was six of us in the house but thank god we got out. Material things can be replaced."

At least 17 people were displaced by the fire and unable to get back into their building. The Red Cross is providing them assistance.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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