Two sisters lost their lives on Thanksgiving as they bravely rescued their disabled father from a horrifying house fire.
Frantzia Fleury, 49, and her sister Pojanee, 42, guided their father through the blaze which broke out at their home in Orange, New Jersey, at around 5pm on Thursday.
Authorities say the women managed to get their father to safety, along with six other people, before they were overcome by the flames.
Essex County Prosecutor’s Office declared both women dead at 6.45pm.
Family and friends have flooded social media with tributes to the pair, who were each mothers of one child.
A cousin said: "They were deeply devoted to their families and it’s just a tragedy.
"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."
Frantzia had previously served in the Marine Corps and at the time of her death, was a radiolic technologist at Clara Maass Medical Centre in Belleville.
Movingly, she had posted an image online with her father during a previous Thanksgiving with the caption, "Daddy's girl".
Younger sister Pojanee was a published author, publisher and inventor who was described as a "dedicated community servant" and a "selfless leader", by the African Immigrants Commission of New York and Connecticut.
She founded Brown Eyez Magazine in 2007, in order to promote the "positive artistry and holistic health" of the African American community.
Both women were described by their cousin as having “big hearts”.
Neighbour Matthew Mehr said the family were "really nice" and "super friendly" whenever he encountered them. Fellow neighbour Justin McDaniel added: "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 used to babysit me when I was younger too, so I know that they’re going through a lot right now."
Other eyewitnesses were left distraught in the aftermath of the blaze, with one describing it as "heart-breaking" and "really hard".
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire.
