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Deadly fire at senior living complex on Long Island
FOX 5 NY's Michelle Ross reports.
LONG ISLAND - Two people were killed and at least seven were injured in a fire that broke out Sunday morning at a senior living complex on Long Island, police said.
The 84-year-old woman has been identified as Theresa Casale of Plainview.
When the officers arrived at the complex in Plainfield, they saw smoke and flames coming from the 2nd-floor roof.
Residents were evacuated from the building.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation at the scene. Police said two people were sent to a nearby hospital for further treatment and are in stable condition.
A 74-year-old woman, identified as Lynne Citron of Plainview, sustained burns and was sent to a nearby hospital in critical condition.
"I smelled smoke and when I went outside I almost fell over," tenant Lawrence DeRosa said.
When the call came in, firefighters were there within minutes.
"When we arrived, it was heavy fire on the second floor that had already vented through the windows and then traveled quickly into the rest of the apartment and then extended up into the roof, collapsing the roof," Plainview volunteer fire chief Andy Cohen said.
Nibia Cipriano was in the unit next door.
Blink video showed smoke filling the hallways as a first responder approached.
"We want to thank the police officers and the fire department that came, got my mom out," Cipriano's daughter Christine said.
Some tenants have been allowed back in to take essential belongings. Others have been staying warm in the community room while they wait.
That's where Sandra Rodriguez rushed to not knowing if her mother was alive.
"My tears were kind of rolling down my face. And I saw the back of her I saw her grey hair and I knew it was my mother when I tapped her and she turned and I said well maybe it’s not my mother but it was," Rodriguez said.
The Nassau County fire marshals are investigating the cause of the fire.