69-Year-Old Woman Dies In East Orange Fire, Officials Say

EAST ORANGE, NJ — Officials identified a 69-year-old woman as the victim in an three-alarm apartment fire in East Orange early Friday.

Cherry Davis was trapped in The Villa apartments on Prospect Street when the fire broke out at 12:30 a.m., Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II and East Orange Police Chief Phyllis Bindi said Tuesday.

A GoFundMe for Davis's surviving family members has raised more than $5,300 as of 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Firefighters were able to rescue other residents, and put the fire out around 9 a.m. with the help of other departments. Davis was pronounced dead at University Hospital in Newark later that morning, officials said.

Four firefighters were injured and 18 families displaced, officials said.

"The preliminary investigation indicates the fire may have been started when a vehicle near the building caught fire," Stephens and Bindi said.

The prosecutor's office and East Orange Police and Fire are investigating the fire.

Korri Pettiford, an East Orange native and owner of Southern Komfort Bar and Grill in Orange, provided meals for the displaced families and to the firefighters.

The city says anyone needing help after the fire may contact Rita Butts, Manager of Senior Services, at 973-266-8832 or Tony Jackson, Chief of Staff, at 973-266-5151.