Teaneck In Mourning After Fire Claims Beloved Married Couple

TEANECK, NJ — Delton and Amoya Brown, a beloved couple from Teaneck, have been identified as the two people who died in a Thursday morning house fire, their church said.

"It is with sad and broken hearts, that we wish to inform you of the tragic deaths of Delton & Amoya Brown who passed away tragically as a result of a terrible house fire," the Regional Office of the Church of God of Prophecy said, in a statement.

"We are soliciting everyone at this time to be in earnest prayer for their family, friends and the Englewood COGOP Church family."

The fire was reported to Teaneck police around 3:20 a.m. on Thursday. Members of the Teaneck Fire Department arrived to the 1161 Arlington Ave. home shortly after, and located a fire on the second floor.

While trying to suppress the fire, members of the department located two unresponsive people on the third floor of the house.

Just across the street from the home, community members and friends gathered to mourn the couple during a Thursday vigil, CBS2 reports. According to the station, the church plans to have a service dedicated to the Brown's.

The couple, both originally from Jamaica, have left a lasting impact on those closest to them, both in the community and in the church.

"Amoya is like my daughter," Bishop Winston George Christian, the couple's pastor, told CBS2.

"When she migrated here several years ago, she spent every Christmas at my home. Delton is my right hand."

A friend of the family has set up a fundraiser for funeral costs, active as of Thursday. So far, the page has raised more than $15,000.

Click here to see the fundraiser.

Watch the report below:

An investigation is underway, led by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, the Bergen County Sheriff's Office and Teaneck police. But for now, a community is left stunned and saddened.

Keep up to date with what's happening in your community by subscribing to your local Patch newsletter here.