Six Children Identified In Fatal Blaze In New York

The bodies were found in various bedrooms

By Christen Gowan
The Times-Union

FORT EDWARD, N.Y. — Emergency officials confirmed the identities on Monday of the six children who were killed in a house fire on Burgoyne Avenue early Saturday.

On Monday, Washington County Director of Public Safety William Cook confirmed the identities of the six children who were killed in the fire. They were identified as: Hope Palazzo-Smith, 12; Mackenzie Palazzo-Smith, 6; Lewis Carl Smith III, 7; Emilie L. Smith, 3; Abbigayle Smith, 1; and Paige Cox, 8. Autopsies of the children revealed that all six died of smoke inhalation.

Abbigayle Smith was found in a downstairs bedroom of the two-story, wood-frame house on Burgoyne Avenue. The rest were found in various bedrooms upstairs. Investigators have said that the fire appears to be accidental and that the fire started in the first-floor living room. The exact cause is still under investigation, and investigators are waiting for several other interviews before officially stating the fire's cause.

Cook said that one smoke detector was found in the cellar stairway, but said he was unsure if the detector sounded during the fire. The public safety official said other detectors could have been in the house, but they weren't found in the rubble.

Four people — three adults and a child — escaped the fire.

Westchester Medical Center spokesman David Billig said that Samantha Cox, the mother of Paige Cox, is still in critical condition. Lewis Carl Smith Sr., the father of the five Smith children who were killed, no longer has a condition listed with the hospital. He was previously listed in good condition.

Firefighters got the call at 6:50 a.m. Saturday. By the time they arrived, the flames were already too thick for first responders to enter the building, said Fort Edward Assistant Fire Chief Bill Brown.

Counseling services are available for community members coping with the aftermath at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Fort Edward High School.

Cook said the community has banded together tremendously in the wake of the devastating fire. "We'd like to thank everybody for their help in this most trying time," Cook said.