House Fire Kills Woman, Injures Others In West Orange, Officials Say

WEST ORANGE, NJ — One woman was killed, and three others were injured in a West Orange house fire early Friday morning, according to prosecutors.

Just before 5 a.m., firefighters were called to a two-story house at 22 Westwood Drive on reports of a blaze.

Firefighters attempted to rescue Chinwe Obi, a 36-year-old woman who officials said was undergoing treatment for severe obesity, by cutting a hole in the side of the burning home.

"Due to the patient's size and the hoarding conditions, crews cut the window down to the floor from the exterior," a West Orange incident report said.

First responders found Obi unconscious in a first-floor bedroom with no pulse and burns to both arms and legs, according to West Orange Communications Officer Joe Fagan.

Firefighters and EMS were able to remove Obi from the home and took her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead just before 6:30 a.m.

Three of the occupants, two of whom were identified as Obi's mother and sister, were able to get out of the engulfed home. They were taken to Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center to be treated for smoke inhalation, according to authorities.

The fire was eventually extinguished, and no first responders were harmed during the incident, officials said.

It's not clear yet what caused the blaze.

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and the West Orange Fire Department are conducting an investigation into the fire's origin.

Anyone with additional information about the incident is asked to call the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Tips Line at 1-877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432.