TWO sisters have died in a Thanksgiving tragedy after they heroically saved their disabled father from a raging house fire.
Frantzia Fleury, 49, and Pojanee Fleury, 42, were trapped inside the blazing New Jersey home on Thursday while attempting to guide their father to safety.
The family home on Mosswood Avenue in the City of Orange was engulfed in flames at 5pm.
The sisters helped their father escape the burning house physically unscathed, alongside six other people who were inside the home, according to local authorities.
Emergency services attended the home, however it was too late for the pair, who had been overcome by the flames.
Prosecutors from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said the women were declared dead at 6.45pm.
Tributes have flowed in on social media from heartbroken family and friends.
Pojanee, a published author, publisher and inventor, has been remembered as a “great selfless community leader”, by the African Immigrants Commission of New York and Connecticut.
“Pj was a dedicated community servant,” they added.
“We are extremely sad.”
Pojanee founded the Brown Eyez Magazine, which launched in 2007, as a “a celebration of positive artistry and holistic health … for and about African Americans”.
Frantzia – a radiologic Technologist at Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville – had shared a touching Facebook post nine years prior to the tragic accident.
She posted a photo the day after Thanksgiving, posing with her father and captioned “DaddysGirl”.
The pair were described by a cousin as having “big hearts“.
She had previously served in the Marine Corps.
“They were deeply devoted to their families and it’s just a tragedy,” the cousin said.
“I don’t know how, I don’t know how my aunt is going to deal with this, my uncle, I don’t even know if he’s aware of what’s going on.
“He’s in the hospital right now, suffering from smoke inhalation.”
Both women each had a child.
Neighbours were shaken by the deadly inferno.
Speaking to local media, one said: “I just came here to look, and then I see the whole fire”.
“That’s heartbreaking, and on Thanksgiving, that’s hard.
“That’s really hard,” they added.
Matthew Mehr said he’d always had pleasant interactions with the family.
“I just know that they kept their yard really nice and whenever I would go for a walk or run, they were super friendly,” he told WABC.
Another neighbour, Justin McDaniel said: “This family’s been here my entire life, as long as I’ve been here”.
“They’ve always been good people, one of the daughters of the house they used to babysit me when I was younger too, so I know that they’re going through a lot right now,” he added.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.