7-year-old boy dies in Wappinger house fire
WAPPINGER, N.Y. » A raging house fire claimed the life of 7-year-old boy early Friday in this southern Dutchess County town and is under investigation.
State police said the fire at 26 Relyea Terrace was called in about 5:20 a.m. and that troopers responding to the scene were told a child might be inside the burning house.
Troopers initially entered the building without protective gear and were unable to find the boy, later identified as Sean Burlingame, because of extensive fire and smoke, police said.
They said New Hackensack firefighters and the Fishkill assistant fire chief, wearing full gear, then climbed a ladder and entered the boy’s bedroom through a window, and the assistant chief was able to crawl along the floor and locate the unconscious child and remove him.
Sean was taken to Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, where he was declared dead, police said.
The other five occupants of the house got out before emergency responders arrived.
One of the responding troopers who entered the house was taken to a hospital and treated for smoke inhalation.
The cause of the fire was undetermined late Friday and remained under investigation by state and Dutchess County fire investigators and state police.