By msnbc.com staff and news services
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J. -- Fire swept through an old two-family house early Thursday, killig four children and a grandmother, local media reported.
An 8-year-old was taken in critical condition to a hospital, and three other children escaped, the Star-Ledger reported.
The house, believed to be more than 130 years old, caught fire around 3 a.m.
A 12-year-old girl, a 7 year-old boy, a 3-year-old boy, a 2-year-old and a grandmother were reported killed, according to the Star-Ledger.
A next-door neighbor told the newspaper the fire was raging by the time firefighters arrived.
“The flames were enormous. They were coming out of the top of the house,” the neighbor, Robin Stagnitto, was quoted as saying “The fire just kept going for a couple of hours.”
The large home sits on a raised corner lot on a quiet suburban street of well-tended two and three-story houses.
Half of the house was completely burned out, with windows blown out and the white siding charred with black smoke.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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