Woman killed in fire was trapped upstairs

A woman who died in her upstairs bedroom in a Mastic fire early yesterday had multiple sclerosis and could not easily get up and down the stairs, her grieving son told Newsday.

Laura Vitagliano, 56, was pronounced dead at the scene by a doctor from the Suffolk County medical examiner's office after her body was found in the home on Neptune Avenue, Suffolk police said.

Steven Vitagliano, 25, also of Mastic, said his mother had multiple sclerosis for 25 or 30 years and was blind in one eye. While she used a wheelchair outside of her home, she could walk around the house but had difficulty with stairs, he said.

Police said her husband, Anthony Vitagliano, called 911 at 12:30 a.m. to report the fire and say his wife was trapped.

Steven Vitagliano said his father was sleeping on a couch downstairs when he heard his wife's screams.

"He heard her screaming, he smelled smoke, and he called the cops," Steven Vitagliano said outside the burned home yesterday. His father, who was assessing damage and sorting through belongings, declined to speak to a reporter.

Steven Vitagliano said his father reached the bedroom door but could not get through to his wife.

He was not sure why his mother could not get out of the bedroom or why his father could not get in.

Police and fire officials said the home was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. Steven Vitagliano said they moved his father away from the doorway, but were too late to save his mother.

"He tried everything he could to get her out," Steven Vitagliano said.

Initial indications were that the fire was not suspicious, but police said homicide investigators and arson detectives were on the scene, following standard procedure in such cases.

Laura Vitagliano wanted to pursue a career as a paralegal, her son said, but her disease derailed those plans.

"I just want people to know she was a loving woman whose life got cut short," he said.

With Gary Dymski