Couple killed in E. Massapequa house fire

A couple living in an East Massapequa garage apartment were killed in a blaze early Thursday as a relative tried frantically to break in and rescue them, authorities said. A town official said there was no permit for the apartment.

Firefighters found the bodies of Gary Munsch, 54, and Toni Munsch, 51, after they put out the fire, Nassau County police said. A relative said the two had been married for almost 30 years.

By the time a houseguest who smelled smoke alerted homeowner Leonard Chiaramonte, 56, it was too late to save the Munsches, the owner's sister and brother-in-law, fire officials said.

Chiaramonte suffered second-degree burns to his face, arms and hands trying to rescue the couple. He was in stable condition at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, said Vincent McManus, a supervisor with the Nassau County Fire Marshal's Office.

"When firefighters finally gained access, they found the deceased," McManus said. "Unfortunately, there was no viable rescue to be made."

Fire officials said the fire in the Nancy Place home's apartment was reported at 4:06 a.m.

McManus said the main house had two smoke detectors, but neither worked. One didn't have a battery, and the other had "severe corrosion" around the battery leads. Investigators have not determined whether the garage apartment had smoke detectors, McManus said.

McManus said the houseguest, 57, a former neighbor who lives in Florida but was not identified, first smelled the smoke.

The guest and Chiaramonte "searched the main house, looked for the source of the smoke," then checked on the apartment and saw flames and smoke through a window, McManus said.

The two men tried to break open the door to the apartment but couldn't get in, McManus said. They then called 911.

The main house does not have access to the garage apartment, which town officials said was not in compliance.

"This was not a legal apartment," Oyster Bay Town spokeswoman Phyllis Barry said. No permits for work in the garage had been filed, she said.

The town does not allow accessory apartments but does grant permits for mother-daughter apartments, Barry said.

There were no complaints from neighbors about the apartment, Barry said.

Barry said town officials are preparing a summons with several violations for Chiaramonte.

Firefighters from Massapequa, Amityville and South Farmingdale had the blaze under control within an hour, officials said.

Two Massapequa firefighters suffered minor burns and were taken to St. Joseph Hospital in Bethpage.

The houseguest was uninjured, McManus said.

Fire marshals and Nassau police arson and bomb squad detectives were at the scene, but officials stressed that is routine in fatal fires.