YATES, N.Y. — Firefighters are investigating a deadly house fire in Orleans County that has really left first responders distraught.
Orleans County Undersheriff Christopher Bourke tells 2 On Your Side that 80-year-old Minnie Holt died in the fire on Roosevelt Highway. Her dog was also killed.
Deputies say the woman called 911 herself just before 5 a.m. to say that her house was on fire and she couldn't get out. We're told she kept speaking with a dispatcher while awaiting help, but she eventually went quiet while on the line.
A sheriff's deputy arrived on scene shortly after the call, but was unable to reach the woman. That deputy, along with firefighters say there was just too much heavy smoke and fire to make an entrance until the flames went down.
Undersheriff Bourke says everyone involved in the response, especially the dispatcher, is hurting with the outcome.
"It just rips your heart out that you can't get there," said Bourke.
"Would a few minutes have made a difference? Maybe. But we had the deputies working the midnight shift, and we had a deputy on scene within nine minutes of the original call. And the fire was so intense and the smoke was so intense, he injured his hand trying to break the glass and get in there. He couldn't get in there."
The woman's identity is not being released pending notification of the family.
Investigators say a wood-burning stove was going at the time of the fire, but it's not being ruled the official cause as of this time.
A portion of Roosevelt Highway in the Town of Yates was closed while firefighters began investigating.