Doorbell Camera Captures Moment N.J. Home Bursts into Flames, Killing 2 People

Two people have died in a sudden blast that awoke a sleepy New Jersey neighborhood.

Authorities were alerted to a home on Tranquility Court in Washington Township at around 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, May 11. Two people were removed from the debris of the scene after the property was leveled ABC 6, NBC 10, and CBS Philadelphia reported.

Officials said the bodies belonged to a man and a woman, who have not yet been identified, according to the outlets. Police said they are investigating the incident as an “intense fire,” not an explosion.

CCTV footage of the scene appears to show properties engulfed in flames as a result of the blast that woke up neighbors from as far as two blocks away. 

“It just jolted you, and I’ve never experienced that before. It was just a huge explosion,” neighbor Jill Rauf told CBS Philadelphia. “My 92-year-old mother screamed. I grabbed my dog and I grabbed my husband and we ran out of the house, we got in the car.”

She added that it was “too late” for her to go inside the home where the “explosion” happened to help rescue anyone before fire rescues arrived.

The Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed the deaths of two people and said the incident is being treated as a criminal investigation, as they don’t believe it was an accident, per CBS Philadelphia. Authorities state there is no threat to the wider community and no one else was injured.

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Washington Township Police Department, Washington Township Fire Investigators, the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, and the New Jersey Division of Fire Safety didn’t immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Monday, May 12. 

Amid the ongoing investigation, authorities have not yet revealed what may have caused the explosion that also damaged at least two other homes, according to NBC 10.

“I was terrified, absolutely terrified,” neighbor Susan Pinto told the outlet. “Because I never heard an explosion like that in my life, and it just was, the house was, basically, burning to the ground very, very quickly.”

She said firefighters arrived within minutes of her calling 911, while adding to ABC 6 that the blast “sounded like a bomb went off.”

Neighbor Jimmy Gibson told the outlet, “It was a real loud boom. It was loud. I said, something’s wrong. 

“The whole house was in flames already, that fast as soon as the explosion happened. I called 911 as I was walking out the house,” he added.

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Michael Gay, a neighbor of the deceased man, told NBC 10 that he would see the man walking his dog. 

“He was nice. He was a good guy. Always walked his dog and stuff like that. He was a great guy to talk. He’ll say hi, conversations here and there,” Gay said, per the outlet.  “It’s sad. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. It’s just sad to see people go out that way,” he added.