05-02-2012, 08:16 AM
God, it's like an epidemic. :(
cause unknown at this time, the house did have wired smoke detectors.
NYPost
A horrific early-morning fire killed a Westchester police captain, his wife and teenage daughters yesterday — but the cop’s son, amazingly, was able to escape.
“There’s a fire in the house!” yelled Thomas Sullivan, 48 — a former Bronx cop — after the blaze broke out at around 2 a.m.
Thomas Sullivan Jr., 20, was awakened by the screams and managed to crawl down the stairs and out the garage door as the inferno spread and filled the house with smoke.
Moments later, the two-story yellow colonial collapsed — burying the elder Sullivan, his wife, Donna, 48, a nurse, and high-school students Meaghan, 18, and Mairead, 13.
Four dogs also died in the inferno, including Mairead’s two pets.
“My dogs Pepsie and Metsie,’’ she had posted on Facebook. “I love them so much.’’
Patti Maguire, 51, a neighbor on the quiet street in the Putnam County town of Carmel, said, “Within five minutes, I heard a crackling and then all of a sudden the house just came crashing down.”
The heat was so intense it melted the siding of two nearby homes and prevented firefighters from going inside.
“The whole house was engulfed in orange fire and smoke,” Maguire said. “I could feel the heat from where I was. It was horrible.”
It took three hours for the units from Carmel and three other Putnam towns to put out the stubborn fire, and investigators had to use cadaver-sniffing dogs to find the charred bodies.
The fire does not appear suspicious, officials said, though investigators were checking for accelerants. The house had eight smoke detectors, but it was unclear if they went off.
Thomas Jr. was treated for smoke inhalation at Danbury Hospital and released hours later. He was taken to his grandfather’s house in Dutchess County.
“It’s just a nightmare,” said Sullivan’s cousin, Patrick McHugh.
Sullivan worked as a cop for 26 years, moving to the Larchmont PD in 1992 after working as community-affairs officer in the NYPD’s 47th Precinct.
“He had a fantastic personality. He could charm the birds out of the trees,” said McHugh, 55. “He had that Irish smile with a twinkle in the eye. He was unbelievable.”
He was remembered in Carmel as a dedicated leader who coached youth baseball and football.
“It’s a sad loss for those who knew him and also the community,” said Richard Fehn, 50, who grew up with Sullivan.
“They’re hard people to replace.”
Meaghan, a senior at Carmel HS, was scheduled to graduate next month and planned to become a nurse like her mom, said best friend Tammi Booker, 17.
“She liked to be around little kids and enjoy life. She was always a happy person,” said Booker, who wept outside the destroyed home as she released a balloon with words “Class of 2012.”
![[Image: house.jpg]](http://www.tlj-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/house.jpg)
![[Image: sullivan125841--300x300.jpg]](http://www.nypost.com/rw/nypost/2012/05/01/news/web_photos/sullivan125841--300x300.jpg)
![[Image: image.JPG]](http://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.3692397.1335889794!/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/display_600/image.JPG)
Dead in yesterday’s fire are dad Thomas Sullivan Sr. and (front, l-r) Meaghan, mom Donna and Mairead. Son Thomas Jr. got out.
![[Image: 1hr0FO.SlMa.55.jpg]](http://media.kansas.com/smedia/2012/05/02/02/46/1hr0FO.SlMa.55.jpg)
![[Image: inline_120501015297.jpg]](http://dmtf1pfq4vr1f.cloudfront.net/smedia/4d8f65ab45434655a25868939a8ab20a/inline_120501015297.jpg)
cause unknown at this time, the house did have wired smoke detectors.
NYPost
A horrific early-morning fire killed a Westchester police captain, his wife and teenage daughters yesterday — but the cop’s son, amazingly, was able to escape.
“There’s a fire in the house!” yelled Thomas Sullivan, 48 — a former Bronx cop — after the blaze broke out at around 2 a.m.
Thomas Sullivan Jr., 20, was awakened by the screams and managed to crawl down the stairs and out the garage door as the inferno spread and filled the house with smoke.
Moments later, the two-story yellow colonial collapsed — burying the elder Sullivan, his wife, Donna, 48, a nurse, and high-school students Meaghan, 18, and Mairead, 13.
Four dogs also died in the inferno, including Mairead’s two pets.
“My dogs Pepsie and Metsie,’’ she had posted on Facebook. “I love them so much.’’
Patti Maguire, 51, a neighbor on the quiet street in the Putnam County town of Carmel, said, “Within five minutes, I heard a crackling and then all of a sudden the house just came crashing down.”
The heat was so intense it melted the siding of two nearby homes and prevented firefighters from going inside.
“The whole house was engulfed in orange fire and smoke,” Maguire said. “I could feel the heat from where I was. It was horrible.”
It took three hours for the units from Carmel and three other Putnam towns to put out the stubborn fire, and investigators had to use cadaver-sniffing dogs to find the charred bodies.
The fire does not appear suspicious, officials said, though investigators were checking for accelerants. The house had eight smoke detectors, but it was unclear if they went off.
Thomas Jr. was treated for smoke inhalation at Danbury Hospital and released hours later. He was taken to his grandfather’s house in Dutchess County.
“It’s just a nightmare,” said Sullivan’s cousin, Patrick McHugh.
Sullivan worked as a cop for 26 years, moving to the Larchmont PD in 1992 after working as community-affairs officer in the NYPD’s 47th Precinct.
“He had a fantastic personality. He could charm the birds out of the trees,” said McHugh, 55. “He had that Irish smile with a twinkle in the eye. He was unbelievable.”
He was remembered in Carmel as a dedicated leader who coached youth baseball and football.
“It’s a sad loss for those who knew him and also the community,” said Richard Fehn, 50, who grew up with Sullivan.
“They’re hard people to replace.”
Meaghan, a senior at Carmel HS, was scheduled to graduate next month and planned to become a nurse like her mom, said best friend Tammi Booker, 17.
“She liked to be around little kids and enjoy life. She was always a happy person,” said Booker, who wept outside the destroyed home as she released a balloon with words “Class of 2012.”
Dead in yesterday’s fire are dad Thomas Sullivan Sr. and (front, l-r) Meaghan, mom Donna and Mairead. Son Thomas Jr. got out.