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EGG HARBOR CITY -

Tears flowed freely Wednesday morning as the smoke cleared over Washington Avenue.

The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office arrived at the suspicious fire around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday to find two bodies inside. They were later identified as a mother and her 7-year-old son.

"When my friend got here she just started screaming in the ambulance,” said neighbor Cateland Johnson. “By then I know someone died."

"She was one of my best friends and her son was one of my daughter's best friends,” said one of the loved ones who gathered at the scene to wait for any information. “It's just very sad."

Police say a third person, who neighbors identified as the victim's boyfriend, was taken from the house.

Investigators spent much of the day canvassing the neighborhood and searching for evidence.

"The arson dog is looking to see if there's any flammable liquids,' said Egg Harbor City Police Sergeant Dylan Hutton. “This is a suspicious, we're considering it suspicious at this time."

Neighbors we spoke with say they don't understand how something like this could happen in their typically quiet neighborhood.

"I always see the little boy playing and the mom,” said Johnson.

"To have this happen is very devastating and I just hope they catch the person that did this,” said neighbor Deborah Langford.

Two people are dead following a house fire in Egg Harbor, New Jersey, and police have labeled the blaze "suspicious" in nature.

It was around 8:00 a.m. Wednesday when firefighters were called out to the report of a house fire with two people trapped inside on the 200 block of Washington Avenue.

When they arrived crews were able to get the fire under control, but it was too late for those trapped inside.

Two people were killed. Their identities have not yet been released.

The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office says it is investigating the blaze, calling it suspicious.

Philadelphia fire officials have evacuated two buildings due to a ruptured gas line and fire in the city's Old City section.

The rupture happened around 8:45 a.m. on Race Street between 3rd and 4th Streets.

PECO tells Action News a 1 and a half inch low pressure service line was struck by a construction crew working at 325 Race Street, sparking a fire.

The line had to be capped off, disrupting service to an apartment building at 4th and Arch.

25-30 people have been evacuated from buildings in the area.

Posted on NBC40.Net: Nov 03, 2014 4:51 PM ESTUpdated: Nov 03, 2014 5:30 PM ESTPosted By Staff Writer