Father and 2 children killed in Bridgeton house fire

Authorities are investigating an early morning house fire that claimed the lives of one adult and two children.

City police and fire department personnel responded to 15 Park Ave. off of Route 49 just west of the intersection of Route 49 and Burlington Road shortly before 2 a.m. Monday.

Authorities say two children, a 5-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl, along with their father, age 28, succumbed to injuries at the scene, according to Chief of Police Michael Gaimari and Fire Chief Todd Bowen. Three other family members who lived in the second-floor apartment where the fire is suspected to have started made it out of the structure.

They include the 26-year-old mother of the children and her 10-month-old son along with 33-year-old male relative. They are being treated at Crozier-Chester Medical Center and St. Christopher's Hospital in Pennsylvania while the male relative was taken to Inspira Hospital in Vineland for observation.

Police and fire officials stated that all the occupants of the second-floor apartment were members of the same family and that two persons, a 27-year-old female and her 2-year-old daughter who lived in the first-floor apartment also got out of the structure safely.

The fire remains under investigation.