NEW CITY – A 67-year-old man died and his wife is hospitalized after an explosion and fire ripped through their home late Monday.
Fire officials said the man's body was found in the attached garage at 51 Hansen Ave. He had reportedly gone to the garage after smelling gasoline.
His wife, 65, suffered serious burns to the face and arms. She was taken to the burn center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. Police are withholding their names pending family notification.
New City Fire Chief Jim Avaras said firefighters arrived to find the structure fully involved in flames. The fire was reported about 11:30 p.m. and firefighters were on the scene within five minutes, he said.
"As soon as we got here, we had guys in the entire building under heavy fire conditions looking for this guy," Avaras said. "But it ended up that he was in the garage."
The chief said flames were shooting 20 feet into the air from some windows. The blaze was under control in about 20 minutes, he said.
The victims' names have not been released. Neighbors said they're a couple in their 60s, with a daughter and grandchildren.
Tom Ahern, who lives next door on the cul-de-sac, said a loud boom shook his house around 11:30. He thought it might have been a garbage truck, but then he heard crackling sounds. When he got outside, he saw flames in the garage door windows.
He ran back to the house, called 911, then ran back to No. 51.
"The door was unlocked so I yelled in: "Fire, get out! Fire, get out!"
The house was getting smoky. In the garage, "I could see orange flames billowing inside."
Then he heard the wife around back. She was holding her hands up in front of her. They had been burned. She said her husband was still inside.
By then, smoke could be seen in the house, and the flames were spreading beyond the garage. They eventually burned through the second floor and the roof.
Ahern said the couple always parked in the driveway, not the garage. But they had a gas-powered generator and the usual lawn care equipment, including a mower.
No firefighters were injured. The cause of the blaze is under investigation. Orange and Rockland Utilities ruled out natural gas as the cause, Avaras said.
Source: Lohud
Photo courtesy: Zishey/First Responders.
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