A neighbor called 911 at 6:58 a.m. to report the explosion, and initial reports said that someone was trapped in the house.

Robert Tulley, the 38-year-old son of homeowner George Tulley, identified the woman as Deborah Smith, 53, known to her friends as Jessie.

"She was just a really goodhearted woman, just a good soul. She had troubles in life like anybody, but she was a really good woman, and knowing that she went that way it's hard because she was alive, she was calling for help and we couldn't get to her," Tulley said.

Neighbors tried to save the woman trapped inside the burning home here yesterday morning, rushing to the house and attempting to gain access, authorities said.

"It was reported that she was communicating with them as they attempted to rescue her," Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns III said. "Their heroic acts, although unsuccessful, are a credit to these individuals and their community should be proud of them.”

Smith was a friend of the family who had been invited to live in the home with George Tulley a few years ago. Tulley's son described the pair as helping each other out when it was needed.

"He let her move in when she needed a place to stay," he said, describing how Smith would help George Tulley with household chores like washing dishes or doing the laundry.

George Tulley, a 70-year-old insulator for North Pole Insulation in Whitehouse Station, was previously out of work for nine months due to a broken foot, and Smith cared for him during that time, his son said.

Tulley explained that Smith did not regularly stay at the home, but came to the house the night of Aug. 27.

The origin and cause of the explosion and fire remain unknown and authorities are still investigating, Kearns said.

"I don't know how to put it in words, you wake up one morning and 30 minutes later everything you ever worked for in your entire life, as a 70-year-old man, everything is gone, it's all gone," Tulley said.

His mother's ashes and urn that were inside the home were also destroyed. The Tulley family has lived in the home since 1983.

"I think its very hurtful when people are putting stuff out there about reports of drug labs and oxygen tanks and they won't put their name to it," he said of the comments made by users on various websites.

Tulley said these remarks are damaging to his family, and he believes the investigation will prove that any comments suggesting illegal activity are false.

Although shaken by this tragedy, the Hampton community has shown its support to the Tulley family.

"We've had individuals come offer their support, we've got friends and family that have come and offered their support, calling, reaching out, the insurance company is reaching out to my father, people are trying to be helpful," he said.