Wife Dead, Husband Injured in N.J. Blaze
By LYNN BERRY
Updated 5:41 AM EST, Thu, Nov 20, 2008
One person is dead after an overnight house fire in Woodbury, N.J. and another is in serious condition, firefighters said.
54-year-old Nancy Johnson-Epple was found dead in the bedroom of her Victorian home. She died of smoke and soot inhalation, the Gloucester County Medical Examiner's Office said.
Her husband, 55-year-old pediatrician Lawrence Epple, was injured in a fall from a second floor window, Gloucester County police said.
The fire started in the 100 block of Delaware Street around 1am and burned for hours. It was an electrical fire caused by many interconnected extension cords in the home, the Prosecutor's Office said. The house was in the process of being renovated.
There were no smoke detectors in the home, investigators said.
Firefighters attempted to enter the burning house through the front door, but it was blocked by debris, city police department officials said. Once firefighters were able to make it inside, they found the unidentified victim's body.
Woodbury police officers also responded to the scene and tried using a ladder to reach a second floor window to rescue the husband. The ladder didn't reach the window and both the officer and husband fell to the ground during the attempted rescue, according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office.
First Published: Nov 19, 2008 5:50 AM EST
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