Officials have released the cause of the fire that took an Owego fireman’s life earlier this week, and injured another. Investigators say it was an electrical fire that started in a shed next to the home on Chamberlain Road in Newark Valley.
They say there were three electric heat lamps in use in the shed. They’re not sure if it was faulty wiring or other problems that caused the fire, but high winds caused the flames to spread to the house.
The Newark Valley Fire Department was the first on the scene, then Owego responded to assist.
It was two Owego firefighters, Captain Matthew Porcari and Lt. Daniel Gavin, who were inside when a floor collapsed beneath them. Porcari was killed, while Gavin was injured. Gavin has since been released from the Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse with non-life threatening injuries.
The entire incident remains under investigation.
