In all, 16 people were affected by a fire on the 100 block of Rose Avenue.
As it turns out, the situation could have been much worse if a neighbor had not been late for work this morning.
When Dana Scull left for work around 7:00 a.m. Monday, she discovered a horror show unfolding at the house next door. That's where she saw two terrified little girls in the attic window desperately trying to escape a fire.
"There was a lot of smoke coming out, so they were just trying to get as much air as they could and hanging out the window but at the same time trying not to fall," Scull said.
She called 911 and ran to the house, opened the front door and screamed for everyone to wake up and get out.
"Thank God that she was running a little lit late for work because, God forbid, who knows what would have happened if it wasn't for her," said fire victim Robert DiBona.
Making their way through thick smoke, firefighters and police arrived and helped finish evacuating the rented home where members of an extended family were sleeping on every floor and in an apartment just behind the home.
"A total of 16 people were sleeping in the residence here at the time of the fire. We had 11 taken to hospitals," said Dep. Chief Paul Sandrock of the County Fire Marshal's office.
Several people were treated and released but Shannon Ryan and her four children - two of whom were hanging out that window - are listed in critical but stable condition at Crozier Chester Burn Center. They were all sleeping on the top floor.
The Camden Co. Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire. Officials say no smoke detectors were going off when they arrived and they could not locate any inside.
The owner of the home, Nancy Jones of Cherry Hill, says she had them installed and that she had no idea so many people were living there.
The Red Cross is assisting the victims finding temporary shelter, but what this extended family will do after that is unclear.
