A man was found dead early Sunday morning after an apartment fire on Exchange Avenue in Endicott. Several fire departments were called just before 6 a.m. Sunday to an apartment complex at 319 Exchange Avenue, according to Endicott Fire Chief Joseph Griswold.
Endicott police said, upon arrival, they found Tasheane Johnson outside of apartment 6, and a deceased man, Michael Kelly, in front of the apartment door. Johnson said she arrived home Sunday morning and found the apartment in flames and filled with smoke. They said Johnson found Kelley collapsed on the steps in the apartment and screamed for help. Several residents from the apartment complex said a neighbor from apartment 7 ran into the house while it was on fire to try and help pull Kelley out. When the fire crews arrived at the scene, they were met with heavy smoke and fire. It took them approximately 20 minutes to get the fire under control. The upper floor of apartment 6 also collapsed.
Investigators believe the blaze started in the apartment’s kitchen, but the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
