Commack woman reported among dead in fire

A Commack woman was among three people killed in a fire that tore through a private home rented by Marist College students near campus early Saturday morning, according to a source close to the investigation.

Poughkeepsie police Sunday released the name of one of the victims -- Eva Block, 21, of Woodbridge, Conn., a senior fashion-design student at the college. But the other two victims -- a female Marist student and a man, both in their early 20s, were not officially identified.

The source identified the female student as Kerry Fitzsimons, 21.

A woman who answered the phone Sunday at Fitzsimons' family home in Commack said the family had no comment.

"She was wonderful," the woman said before hanging up.

A neighbor, Dorothy Trafas, said the Fitzsimons family moved into the neighborhood about 20 years ago.

Trafas said she paid her respects to the family Sunday, as other neighbors rallied around to support them

"They are distraught," Trafas said of the family, adding that Kerry Fitzsimons was "their oldest, darling daughter."

Four other people in the house escaped the fire without serious injuries, officials said.

Fairview Fire District Chief Chris Maeder said Sunday that the investigation is continuing but that the fire did not appear to be set. Maeder said the fire is believed to have started in the rear of the first floor.

More than 100 students attended a vigil Sunday night for those killed, and the entire college community is grieving, college spokesman Greg Cannon said.

"We've seen a real outpouring of support and caring through social media, online, and in person on campus," he said.

The off-campus house on Fairview Avenue was rented by six female Marist students, Poughkeepsie Police Chief Thomas Mauro said.

The fire was reported to 911 by a passerby about 1:30 a.m., when seven people were in the house -- four residents and three male guests, Mauro said.

There had been a social gathering at the house earlier in the evening, and the group had gone to bed about an hour before the fire was reported, he said.

Mauro said the surviving men both reported waking up and discovering the house was on fire.

The male guest on the second floor tried to touch the doorknob of the room and found it was hot, Mauro said. He and the female student in that room then jumped through the second-story window to escape the fire.

Another couple on the first floor also jumped out a window after discovering the house was engulfed in flames, Mauro said.

The four survivors were taken to a hospital, where they were treated for minor smoke inhalation and other minor injuries before being released, officials said.

With Jennifer Barrios and AP