Update: 2 Killed in Fourth Avenue Fire

A woman and her daughter were killed in a Huntington Station fire despite a vigorous effort to save them, authorities said Friday morning.

The fire was reported about 11:45 p.m. Thursday in the Fourth Avenue home. It apparently broke out in the basement and quickly spread to the rest of the house.

Suffolk County Det. Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick of the Suffolk County police identified the victims as Reyna Paris, 64, and her daughter, 29-year-old Rosemarie Martinez, who had Down Syndrome. Paris's son, Joseph Martinez, 26, escaped the fire. 

Huntington Manor firefighters struggled through clutter in the home in an attempt to locate and rescue the two women, who were in separate bedrooms. After taking the victims from the house, firefighters and emergency rescue personnel attempted resuscitation before they were taken to Huntington Hospital, where they died.

Nearly 100 firefighters and EMS personnel from eight departments assisted from the Huntington, Greenlawn, Cold Spring Harbor, Halesite, Dix Hills, Melville, and Syosset fire departments, and the Huntington Community First Aid Squad. The scene was under the command of Huntington Manor Fire Chief Fred Steenson, Jr., who was supported by Second Assistant Chief Mike DePasquale. 

"They made an aggressive search and were able to find them," Steenson said. "But they didn't make it. The firefighters did a phenomenal job under the conditions. I'm so proud of them. They did the job they had to do."

Neighbors said Joseph Martinez was badly injured in a motorcycle accident two years ago and they had taken in his dog because he was unable to care for it.

Arson and crime scene investigators responded to the blaze and were assessing the scene Friday morning. Town spokesman A. J. Carter told Patch the house had no history of code violations.

Dr. David Bennardo, superintendent of South Huntington schools, wrote to the district community, "Sadly, we have learned that the victims of this fire, Ms. Reyna Paris and her daughter Rosemarie Martinez, were the parent and sibling of four Walt Whitman High School alumni. Our hearts go out to Jenny, Clarissa, Diana, and Joseph Martinez who lost their mother and sister during this terrible fire. It brings great sadness to know that members of our South Huntington family are hurting so deeply today and we join in giving them our collective thoughts and prayers. The sad reality is that there are certain things which will simply never make sense in our lives, and we are left with few words powerful enough to sooth the broken hearts of our friends. Please keep Jenny, Clarissa, Diana, and Joseph in your prayers."