2 killed in house fire on Fifty Acre Road South in St. James, officials say

A mother and her adult son were killed in a house fire on Sunday afternoon in St. James and a third person was hospitalized for smoke inhalation and burns, according to police and fire officials.

The mother and son were identified by police on Monday morning as Christine Lehmann, 52, a resident of the home, and Nicholas Lehmann, 25.

First responders took the homeowner, Ronald Montagna, 91, to Stony Brook University Hospital for his injuries, Suffolk County police said.

The fire tore through the two-story home on Fifty Acre Road South, sending smoke and flames shooting out of the windows, witnesses and fire officials said.

It broke out at about 3:15 p.m., according to Daniel Keegan, first assistant chief of the St. James Fire Department.

Anthony Capasso, 70, rents a room in the home from Montagna. Capasso said he was away from the house when it caught fire.

"It’s one room, but that’s everything I have," Capasso said at the scene. "You never think it’s gonna be you."

Capasso, who works at a nearby discount store, said Montagna invited him to rent a room and told him he couldn’t afford to live alone after his wife died.

"Basically, I take care of him," Capasso said of the homeowner. "He’s been in and out of the hospital. ... If I’m not there, he’s on his own."

Officials are investigating the cause of the fire, which they said does not appear to be suspicious.

Eight fire departments with 80 firefighters responded to the scene. It took about two hours to put out the fire, Keegan said.