Women killed in Fair Lawn fire had just escaped homelessness

The two women killed in a fire Tuesday in Fair Lawn had housing for less than a year after being homeless.

FAIR LAWN -- The two women killed in a fire Tuesday in Fair Lawn had housing for less than a year after being homeless.

The women moved into the home operated by the Alliance Against Homelessness of Bergen County only months ago, David Moore, executive director of the non-profit, said. The Alliance provides supportive housing to homeless adults with mental illnesses.

"It's devastating on several levels," Moore said. "Not just the loss of these people, but the inability for these two women to meet their potential."

http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2015/11/arson_not_suspected_in_blaze_that_killed_2_in_nj_g.html#incart_river_index

Moore and the police declined to identify the women until their families have been notified.

A fast-moving fire at the Berkshire Road home killed the two women and sent two others to the hospital. All four women were in their 50s or 60s, Moore said.

Investigators have ruled arson out as a cause of the fire, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said. The blaze started in an upstairs bedroom of the two-story house.

The Alliance owns and operates five homes in Bergen County. Staff members visit the homes several times a week as needed, but residents keep their own schedules. The goal is for them to live independently, Moore said.

"We've had so many wonderful stories of people whose lives have been positively changed by this housing," Moore said.

http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2015/11/2_killed_in_fire_at_fair_lawn_group_home.html#incart_river_index

None of the women had physical disabilities that would have kept them from getting out of the house, Moore said. The Fair Lawn home was not handicap accessible.

"They would have had to navigate stairs and things like that," he said.

The borough was notified about the house's use as supportive housing, Moore said. Residents at each home change from time to time, and neighbors said they were mostly quiet and kept to themselves.

The Alliance will house the two women who survived the fire temporarily at other houses in Hillsdale and Teaneck. The organization intends to rebuild the Fair Lawn home, Moore said.