What to Know
- Two women in their 50s are dead after a fire ripped through their Long Island home, officials say
- A 47-year-old man was rescued from a basement apartment of the Patchogue home on Sinn Street
- A police officer suffered a minor back injury rescuing the man in the basement
Two dead women in their 50s were pulled from a burning home on Long Island early Monday, officials say.
They were identified hours later as 54-year-old Kimberley Bonsignore and 56-year-old Brenda Richardson. Detectives believe Bonsignore owned the home on Sinn Street in Patchogue that somehow went up in flames.
Officials say a "part-time" resident came to the house around 1:30 a.m. and found the door hot to the touch. When the "part time" resident opened the door, he saw flames inside the house, backed up and called 911, police say.
A responding sergeant tried to get in through the front door but couldn't, so he kicked in a side door. He and two other officers found a disoriented 47-year-old man in the basement; they dragged him outside. One of the officers that helped pull the man to safety suffered a minor back injury.
Cops then tried to get into the main part of the house from the basement, but the flames were too intense. Firefighters responded and found the two women in the main part of the house. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
"It's scary. I'm sad that people were hurt," Gina Monteforte, a neighbor, said. "I'm just thankful that no one else was."
Police say there were no smoke detectors inside of the home, but as of early Monday, they were still investigating a source of the fire. Authorities say the flames were not visible from the outside.
"Preliminary investigations suggest that the fire was not criminal, that it was an accident," Suffolk Police Department Det. Lt. Kevin Beyrer said.
