Overview
- A fast‑moving five‑alarm fire destroyed a multi‑family home on Park Place in Orange, N.J., forcing a large mutual‑aid response from Essex County departments.
- Two people were pronounced dead at the scene: an 8‑year‑old girl and a 70‑year‑old woman whose identities have not been released.
- Fire crews conducted complex operations to search and recover belongings and people, including lowering a firefighter into the structure with a crane and ropes.
- The American Red Cross reported about 20 people from five families were displaced and NJ Transit provided a cooling bus while shelter and aid are arranged.
- Officials from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and local agencies are investigating the cause of the blaze and have highlighted the risks posed by long‑standing multi‑family, multi‑generational homes on the block.