The Albany County Sheriff has released the identities of four people who died in a housefire in the town of New Scotland Saturday morning.
Sheriff Craig Apple says 40-year-old Rebecca Monterosso, 35-year old Arthur Neander, 5-year old Emily Neander and 64-year old Dale Donato were killed when the farmhouse on Normanskill Road erupted in flames.
"The autopsies have been conducted and the conclusion and cause of death was due to asphyxiation as a result of smoke inhalation," said Apple. "We brought in ATF and the Office of Fire Prevention and Control as well as we flew up an electrical engineer who was working that fire on the harbor down there in New Jersey where the two firemen had passed, he had come up to help us and offer his expertise. And from there, we've pretty much determined that we definitely have an electrical fire. We're just trying to find out how that fire was caused. Started in the back of the building and burned up, very fast moving, tin roof held the heat and the smoke in which was problematic, and that's pretty much the latest we have on it."
A 15-year-old boy escaped by jumping from a second-floor window and has been released from the hospital.
New Scotland Town Supervisor Doug LaGrange says he drove by the Circle Tree Farm property twice a day.
"It's a family that's been in the town for generations," LaGrange said. "You know, they've, they've been in that area of the town for generations, whether it be the, the, the original family name, or, you know, branches off of that, and so there's, they're widely known and, and, you know, have been a large part of the community over the many years, mostly involved in agriculture."
The family farm sold flowers, fruits, vegetables and Christmas trees. LaGrange says community response to the tragic news was swift.
"Almost immediately. The community, the Voorheesville village, which is in the town of New Scotland here. And those in the town itself, there's buckets all around town for looking for donations for the 15-year-old who survived the fire. There's was people almost immediately donating clothes and all sorts of stuff to try to help him you know, get his life started back here. So it's just the way the community came together. It's such a great example of what people can do. And so I'm very proud of our town and our, our community in general for that," said LaGrange.
Again, Sheriff Apple: "We're kind of sitting back right now and watching the community come together to take care of the family. We're obviously going to do something. I've had a number of people reach out to us about fundraisers, or donations. And you know what, I kind of want to just let things settle a little bit. I don't want to do anything rash. So we're going to kind of sit back a little. I know there's a very good GoFundMe working right now where they've raised a lot of money," Apple said.
Apple says the tragedy shows the importance of having house fire drills.
"Have a plan and make sure you're prepared. I'm not saying that these folks want but usually as a result of a tragedy, if you can take anything away, it's you know, don't let it happen again, and make sure people are educated and prepared," said Apple.
The Voorheesville Central School District’s crisis team has developed a week-long support plan for staff, students and the greater community, posted on the district website.
