Law enforcement officials in New Jersey have opened a criminal investigation into a devastating house fire — which, neighbors have called an explosion — on Sunday that left two people dead and a house left as little more than a pile of debris in Washington Township.
Prosecutors in Gloucester Township have told NBC10’s Neil Fischer that the Gloucester County Fire Marshal’s Office is working with law enforcement officials to determine how the deadly fire may have begin as the incident is now being considered a criminal investigation.
Officials also said the county’s coroner’s office is still working and has not yet prepared an autopsy report on the two individuals — a man and a woman — who were pulled from the wreckage of the home.
The identities of the two individuals found in the property have not yet been revealed by law enforcement officials.
But, neighbors, and a woman who he previously dated, identified the man who lived at the home as Daniel Steele.
“It’s an emotional roller coaster. I hurt for his whole family. I hurt for her family. I hurt for myself, because Dan was one of the best people I ever met,” Steele’s former girlfriend, Nicole Ruiz, told NBC10’s Miguel Martinez-Valle.
Ruiz said that, before Sunday’s fire, Steele dropped his dog, Billy, off at her home and along with some dog food.
