Loved ones are mourning a high school student who was killed in a massive fire that injured three other people and displaced 22 residents in Trenton, New Jersey.
The three-alarm fire started around 10:30 p.m. on Friday along the 1200 block of North Olden Avenue in Trenton. Video from witnesses showed massive flames tearing through at least seven row homes in the area.
A teenager, identified by family members as 18-year-old Joseph Kokulo, was killed in the fire. Three other people were injured. One of the survivors is in critical condition while the two others are stable.
Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora told NBC10 Kokulo was a student at Trenton Central High School and was a member of the ROTC unit. The mayor said Kokulo was also supposed to participate in Saturday’s homecoming parade for Trenton Central High.
“His room was on the second floor. It was impossible, the fire that was right directly below him,” Gusciora said. “There was a elderly woman who actually had to jump out of her window.”
Henry Zuba, Kokulo’s uncle, spoke to NBC10 about the teen.
“We are all down. We are all depressed and confused right now. My sister is in tears, crying,” Zuba said. “He was a very promising young man.”
Msgt. Terry Troup, a JROTC instructor who knew Kokulo, said, “This is very tragic. You couldn’t ask for a better person, a better cadet, a better student.”
“From what I’m hearing, he was alone. And none of us should leave alone,” Troup said.
Officials also said at least 22 people were displaced by the fire.
“That was so big,” Arnoldo Esteban, one of the displaced residents, told NBC10. “All the way up to the house so I was completely scared.”
Esteban told NBC10 one of his friends was hospitalized.
“So scared,” he said while fighting back tears. “Because it was the first time it happened in 13 years when I lived here. Now we don’t have anything. We hope everything is okay.”
While firefighters controlled the flames, they remained at the scene Saturday morning. The area where the fire occurred is blocked off as utility crews work to restore power to the impacted homes.
The Red Cross is assisting some of the residents who were displaced. Officials continue to investigate the cause of the fire.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
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