A fire broke out on North 17th Street of East Orange, New Jersey on Sunday morning, and officials from the Essex County Prosecutor's Office have confirmed that at least five people died from the fatal fire including a six-week-old baby.

According to the chief of detectives from the prosecutor's office, Anthony Ambrose, the number of casualties was only confirmed in the afternoon but did not release further details about the said victims.

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Ambrose added that the fifth dead body was found at 2:45 in the afternoon and that emergency responders are already using heavy equipment in order to move the debris from the scene and to recover the bodies.

According to the spokesman of East Orange, Connie Jackson, six people were in the home at 16 North 17th Street during the fire. A woman was rescued from the third floor of one of the said homes and suffered from minor smoke inhalation but survived the incident.

The fire reportedly started at six in the morning as the strong winds blew in the area and the wind had a major impact on the spread of the fire says the deputy chief of the East Orange Fire Department Chris Weiss.

Weiss added that the fire-damaged homes have suffered from very serious damages as the structural conditions have collapsed specifying the rear sections of the homes affected. The search and rescue continues to be extensive to look for other possible survivors or casualties.

Two of the neighboring homes in the area were also damaged. One of these houses was vacant and on the other home, one person lived but escaped the area with no injuries.

One of the witnesses who lived behind the burned houses has posted a photo on Instagram. She said that she woke up to the alarms and the bright light of the fire. She also pointed out that she shared a backyard with one of the houses destroyed in the fire.

The cause of the fire is yet to be investigated. 

Tagssix-week-old baby, five dead, fire, New Jersey, East Orange