Cops: Woman dies during house fire in Southold
A woman was killed during a house fire in Southold Wednesday morning.
Firefighters found the woman, who was alone, on the first floor of the Willow Pond Lane house, said Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley.
A volunteer fireman, who is a neighbor, attempted to enter the house and locate the occupant, but was unable to due to the volume of smoke, police said in a press release.
An alarm company alerted police to the house fire at about 10:30 a.m. The fire was mostly contained by 11 a.m.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. The arson squad will investigate, though it doesn’t appear suspicious at this point, Chief Flatley said.
“We hope we’re able to find out what caused the fire,” he said.
The woman’s identity has not yet been released.
Southold Fire Department Chief Peggy Killian said the victim was found in a chair. A wheelchair was found nearby.
“Her ability to get out of the house was probably not there,” Ms. Killian said.
The fire occurred in a living area on the first floor near the front of the house, she said. A dog was found dead in the same room as the woman and a cat was found dead outside.
Two firefighters were taken by ambulance to a local hospital for minor injuries.
The Greenport and Cuthcogue fire departments assisted at the scene, where Southold police and Suffolk County arson and homicide detectives remained Wednesday afternoon.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story indicated the victim may have called police herself. A press release later stated the call came from an alarm company.
