Investigators say a fire that killed three squatters at an abandoned multifamily home in northern New Jersey appears to have been accidental.

Keren Su, Getty Images
Keren Su, Getty Images
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Essex County prosecutors say the squatters were using canned heat to stay warm when the blaze broke out around 1 a.m. Sunday on the second floor of the home in Orange.

They had previously said the home had no water or electricity.

The fire was reported by an Orange police officer who was on routine patrol in the area when she smelled smoke. The officer and a colleague then kicked in the front door and rescued another man who was in the home.

The three people killed were all men, but their identities are not yet known. They apparently died from burns and smoke inhalation.

 

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