Patchogue house fire leaves woman in hospital burn unit

A woman was hospitalized in the burn unit after an early morning fire Wednesday at a house in Patchogue, officials said.

Firefighters responded to the blaze on Northridge Street, rescuing the woman after 3 a.m., Patchogue Fire Inspector Mike Recio said.

The woman, a tenant in the home whom officials did not identify, was taken to the Stony Brook University Hospital burn unit, Recio said. 

The owner of the home, Johnny Barrett, 64, sat in his pickup truck outside the house with smoke and soot on his face. He said his neighbor spotted the fire and woke him up about 3:30 a.m. while the house was full of smoke. Barrett said he woke his sister and attempted to reach the woman, who was in a bedroom.

"I tried, but I couldn't get to her. I was trying to get her and couldn't get out the door because the flames were too high," Barrett said. "She was calling, 'Johnny,' and I said, 'Come to my voice and grab my hand.' I couldn't see her through the smoke and I couldn't stay any longer."

Flames tore through the single-story home before it was extinguished early Wednesday morning. Village officials boarded up the house and a front window as Suffolk County and Patchogue fire arson investigators examined the scene. 

The cause of the fire has not been determined, but it may be related to cigarette smoking in bed, Recio said. 

"It was pretty badly burned inside and we'll have to complete an assessment report on the future of the home," Recio said. "It's a real tragedy, for sure."

Barrett said he had lived in the home for 50 years and knew the woman who was injured for 30 years. He said she had been living there for the past three years. 

"The whole house is gone and I don't have insurance," Barrett said with just a backpack and a few clothes in the snowy bed of his truck. "There was nothing to grab inside. It's been pretty rough."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.