WAPPINGER – A fire that raced through a home at 26 Relyea Terrace in the Town of Wappinger on Friday morning claimed the life of a young boy. Sean Burlingame, 7, was pronounced dead at Vassar Brothers Medical Center.
Sean Burlingame had just
entered the second grade at
Myers Corners Elementary School
The cause of the fire remains
under investigation
(NHFD photo)
State Police and firefighters from the New Hackensack Fire Department were called to the blaze at 5:22 a.m. Troopers were informed upon arrival that a child may still be inside. Five other people escaped prior to emergency personnel arriving.
Troopers, without protective gear, went inside but were unable to locate
the child because of extensive fire and smoke. One trooper was later taken
to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
New Hackensack firefighters and the Village of Fishkill assistant fire chief, wearing fire gear, were able to get inside from a ladder to a bedroom window. They crawled around the floor and located the child unconscious.
The cause of the fire is unknown and remains under investigation by the state and Dutchess County fire investigators in conjunction with State Police investigators.
Personnel at the scene were from fire departments in New Hackensack, Village of Fishkill, Hughsonville, and East Fishkill, the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, EMStar ambulance, State Homeland Security and Emergency Services Cause and Origin Team, Dutchess County Fire Investigation Division and Central Hudson Gas and Electric.
