Overview
- Officials named the deceased as Leonel García-Cortez and María Guaya, whose children, ages 17 and 11, escaped the blaze.
- Flames erupted around 1:15 a.m. Sunday from a top-floor unit at 308 West Front St., with one victim found in the entryway and another inside the apartment.
- Reports put the number of displaced residents at more than 70, with estimates ranging from 72 to about 90, and the Red Cross housing evacuees at the Plainfield Performing Arts Center.
- Two firefighters were treated and released, and three residents received care for smoke inhalation, including an infant.
- City and school officials are coordinating counseling, transportation and donations for affected families, and building management will refund security deposits to displaced tenants.