NJ lawmaker loses 5 relatives in Paterson house fire

🔥Fire kills 5 family members, including three children, in a wind-fueled blaze Friday

🔥 Assemblyman Al Abdelaziz says the victims were his cousin’s family

🔥 GoFundMe launched to help relatives, residents recover from devastating loss

PATERSON — A legislator says that his cousin's family died in a fast-moving fire Friday night.

The fire that appears to have started in the rear of a home on Emerson Avenue left a 39-year-old man, a 38-year-old woman and their children ages 14, 12 and 7 dead, according to Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes. Assemblyman Al Abdelaziz, D-Passaic, said that his cousin’s family died in the wind-whipped fire.

“Please keep my family in your prayers as we grieve the loss of my cousin, his wife, and their children. Our hearts are broken, but we trust that God will give us strength during these difficult times,” Al Abdelaziz wrote on his Facebook page, identifying him to the New York Times as Raid Abuhadbeh.

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GoFundMe launched to help surviving relatives rebuild

His brother told the Times that Abuhadbeh, a Palestinian American born in New Jersey, was a butcher and had lived in the house for the past five years with his family. A GoFundMe campaign was created to help surviving members of the family to recover from the fire.

"In one night, their entire world changed. Everything they owned was destroyed, and they are now facing overwhelming grief alongside the loss of their home and sense of safety," campaign creator Alyssa Quinonez wrote.

Seven other residents of the home were displaced.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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