House fire kills 7-year-old boy in Dutchess County

NEW YORK (FOX5NY.COM) - A fast-moving fire tore through a home in Dutchess County, New York, killing a boy, early Friday morning, according to the State Police.

State troopers were the first to arrive on Relyea Terrace in Wappinger, just before 5:30 a.m., and found five people who had escaped the burning house. They told the troopers that a child was probably still inside.

The troopers then went inside the burning house without protective fire gear but couldn't find the child because of the heavy flames and smoke, police said.

Firefighters, medics, and other emergency crews from several departments arrived. Firefighters, wearing protective gear, climbed a ladder and went inside through a bedroom window. An assistant fire chief from Fishkill crawled on the floor, found the boy, and got him out through the window, police said.

The boy, identified as Sean Burlingame, 7, was pronounced dead at Vassar Hospital, police said.

One of the state troopers who went inside the burning house was treated at Vasser for smoke inhalation.

State and county authorities are investigating the cause of the fire.