Two sisters died while trying to help their father, who has a disability, escape a Thanksgiving house fire in Orange, New Jersey, authorities said.
Frantzia Fleury, 49, and her 42-year-old sister, Pojanee Fleury, were assisting their father when a fire broke out around 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 27, at a residence on Mosswood Avenue, according to CBS News New York and News 12.
The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office told CBS that both women were pronounced dead shortly afterward. Their father and six other individuals were able to get out of the home safely and were not injured.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, CBS reported.
Pojanee was the founder of Brown Eyez Magazine, which launched in 2007 as “a celebration of positive artistry and holistic health” and is described on its website as “a community magazine … for and about African-Americans.”
Frantzia worked as a radiologic technologist at Clara Maass Medical Center in New Jersey, according to her LinkedIn profile.
A neighbor who saw the blaze told PIX11, “I just came here to look, and then I see the whole fire. That’s heartbreaking, and on Thanksgiving, that’s hard. That’s really hard.”
Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office at 1-877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432.
