Five die in New Jersey house fire SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J., Feb. 23 (UPI) -- A fire in a New Jersey farmhouse killed five people Thursday, four of them children, and left an 8-year-old in critical condition, authorities said. The fire in South Plainfield, a borough of Middlesex County, broke out in the early morning and quickly engulfed the building. The home was a farmhouse built before the area was developed as a suburban tract, neighbors said. A 12-year-old girl, a 7-year-old boy, a 3-year-old boy, a 2-year-old and a grandmother perished in the fire, television cable service News 12 reported. A relative identified the dead woman as Ann Jefferson, the Newark, N.J., the (Newark) Star-Ledger reported. Three children escaped the blaze, but were treated for injuries at local hospitals, Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said. It was not immediately confirmed if the victims were all members of the same family.