A mother and son were identified Monday as the two killed in a fire that tore through a home in Smithtown, Long Island, Sunday afternoon, authorities said.
Resident Christine Lehmann, 52, and her visiting son, 25-year-old Nicholas Lehmann, were pronounced dead at the scene, though police initially withheld their names while next-of-kin were notified.
The 91-year-old homeowner, Ronald Montagna, was hospitalized for smoke inhalation and burns, the Suffolk County Police Department said in a statement.
The fire broke out at about 3:15 p.m. at 178 Fifty Acre Rd. South in St. James, a historic hamlet within Smithtown, about 50 miles east of New York City. Arriving firefighters found flames shooting from the windows and the Lehmanns trapped inside the two-story home, St. James Fire Department First Assistant Chief Daniel Keegan told local media.
“We encountered a heavy fire load on the first and second floor,” Keegan said in a briefing via WPIX-TV. “We received reports of victims trapped within and made a very aggressive effort to get to the victims within.”
It took 80 firefighters from eight fire departments two hours to extinguish the flames, Keegan said. “Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the affected family and loved ones during this difficult time,” the Nesconset Fire Department said.
Montagna had rented out rooms to cover expenses since losing his wife a few years ago, tenants and neighbors said. Christine Lehmann had moved in just a few months earlier, fellow tenant Anthony Capasso, 70, told News 12. Her across-the-hall neighbor, 63-year-old Steven McNally, recalled her as “always friendly, a hard worker,” who sold Christmas trees at a nearby nursery.
Neither of the men was home when the fire broke out, and both said they lost everything they owned. Authorities were working to determine the cause but said it did not appear to be criminal.
