Cops: Deadly NJ House 'Explosion' Was No Accident

Two people were killed in a massive house fire in Washington Township, New Jersey, early Sunday, and authorities said Monday the blaze was not accidental. Neighbors initially referred to the tragedy, which reduced the home to rubble and melted a car parked in the driveway, as an "explosion." But authorities said that's likely not actually the case, and that neighbors probably heard blasts that occurred after the fire had already started, 6 ABC reports. They also said there may have been contributing factors that caused the home to burn intensely and quickly, but no further details were given. A criminal investigation is underway and the deaths of one man and one woman are considered suspicious, NBC Philadelphia reports.

Neighbors identified the homeowner as Daniel Steele, and a woman with whom he was once in a relationship says that before the fire, he dropped off his dog, Billy, at her house along with dog food and money. Minutes before the blaze, she says, he emailed her, "I am a terrible person by the time you read this I won't be alive. Billy loves you more than anyone I've ever seen take care of yourself. Love, me." Of the blast, one neighbor says, "It was huge, huge, sounded like a bomb went off. ... I never heard an explosion like that in my life and it just was, the house was, basically, burning to the ground very, very quickly." (More New Jersey stories.)