Tragic: 6-Week-Old Among Five Killed in House Fire

EAST ORANGE, N.J. (TheBlaze/AP) — A fire stoked by strong winds swept through a three-story house early Sunday, killing five people including a 6-week-old baby.

The fire started about 6 a.m. in the single-family home a few blocks north of Route 280, the Essex County prosecutor's office said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The victims were identified as 79-year-old Alice Horton; 60-year-old Ronnie Horton; 56-year-old Randy Horton; 20-year-old Breiona Love and 6-week-old Lanore Carter-Love. It wasn't immediately known which of or how the victims were related.

Relatives stood on the street comforting each other, WCBS-TV reported.

“I lost my mother-in-law, I lost my niece, I lost my cousin,” one woman told radio station 1010 WINS, according to WCBS. “This ain’t right.”

[sharequote align="center"]“I lost my mother-in-law, I lost my niece, I lost my cousin."[/sharequote]

One female resident escaped and was rescued from the roof of the house, according to news reports. Her name was not released.

“It’s very challenging, very challenging,” East Orange Deputy Fire Chief Christopher Weiss told WCBS. “A good number of our members are very upset.”

Weiss said the home is in a neighborhood of structures that date back to the late 19th century.

"It's one of the oldest neighborhoods in East Orange," he said. "Historically, we've had a lot of serious fires here."

The wind-driven fire spread to a pair of neighboring houses as well, WCBS reported, partially collapsing them. One person living in a house next door escaped safely.