Grandmother, Child Were Victims Of Fatal Edison Fire

EDISON, NJ — The two people who were killed in the Edison house fire this week are identified as a 56-year-old woman and her granddaughter, who she was babysitting, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's office.

Kathleen O’Callahan, 56, and her 6-year-old granddaughter, who was unnamed, did not survive the fast-moving blaze. The family dog also died in the fire.

As Patch first reported, the fire broke out at the family's duplex home on Jill Court at 2:21 p.m. Wednesday. The grandmother and the child were inside the burning home when first responders got there. Edison firefighters were reporting possible entrapments when they got to the scene.

The grandmother was pronounced dead at the scene. The child was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, but died shortly after due to her injuries.

According to this GoFundMe created for the family, the grandmother had been babysitting the child while her daughter went to work. The GoFundMe was created to help the woman pay for funeral expenses for her mother and child. MyCentralJersey first identified them as the Edison fire victims.

"Our friend is facing every mother's worst nightmare," a friend wrote on the page. "On January 22, she went to work leaving her 5-year-old daughter home with her mom. A fire broke out in their home and she has not only lost everything she owned but her beautiful daughter, her loving mother Kathy and her loyal dog were not able to escape in time."

So far the page has raised $15,000 of its $20,000 goal.

The two-alarm fire caused extensive damage to the home, said the county prosecutor. The cause of the fire was not given.

Initial Patch report: Two People, Dog Killed In Edison Fire, Mayor Says