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Firefighters were dousing the 12:30 a.m. blaze at a multi-family home on Palisade Avenue on Monday, Feb. 19, when they discovered and rescued three people trapped in a basement apartment, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
He identified them as Manjit Kaur, 47, 35-year-old Ranjodh Singh IV and an as-yet-unidentified woman.
All three were taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, but Manjit Kaur and the woman were transferred to Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, Musella said.
Singh died of his injuries later that night, the prosecutor reported on Thursday, Feb. 22. The woman died on Tuesday, he said.
Kaur remains hospitalized with severe burns, said Musella, who confirmed that members of his Arson Investigations Unit is investigating the suspicious blaze.
One of the victims apparently used gasoline to ignite – and, as a result, accelerate -- the fire, law enforcement sources said. Gas cans were found at the scene, they noted.
Musella hasn’t yet addressed the suspected cause or apparent motive.
Teaneck and Hackensack firefighters doused the three-alarm blaze, which was declared under control shortly after 1 a.m.
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