Mom and 25-Year-Old Son Die in N.Y. House Fire After She Saves Elderly Landlord from Deadly Blaze

A Long Island community is mourning a mother and her adult son who died after a fast-moving fire tore through their home — moments after she helped save her 91-year-old landlord.

Firefighters were called to a home at 178 Fifty Acre Road South in Smithtown on Sunday, Nov. 30. When crews arrived, the first floor was already heavily involved in flames, which had spread to the second floor, according to a news release from the St. James Volunteer Fire Department.

A resident told first responders that two people were still trapped upstairs. Firefighters tried repeatedly to fight their way to the second floor, but the intense fire and dangerous conditions forced them back.

“Lines from multiple engines were stretched and firefighters pushed their way into the structure to knock down the flames,” the department said in its release, noting that despite their efforts, “the fire load made it impossible” to reach the trapped residents.

Authorities later identified the victims as 52-year-old Christine Lehmann and her 25-year-old son, Nicholas Lehmann, the Suffolk County Police Department said in a statement. The homeowner, 91-year-old Ronald Montagna, was taken to a nearby hospital with smoke inhalation and burns, according to News 12 Long Island.

The St. James Volunteer Fire Department and the Suffolk County Medical Examiner did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Montagna lived in the two-story house and rented out rooms to four tenants, News 12 Long Island reported. Some renters were away when the fire started, but Christine was home with Nicholas, who was visiting for the holiday, one tenant told the outlet.

Another tenant, Anthony Capasso, said he was returning from Thanksgiving in Connecticut when he heard about the fire and rushed back, according to NBC affiliate WNBC.

Capasso told the station that Christine first helped her landlord escape before turning back into the burning home for her son.

“She came down, got the fire extinguisher, got him to get out, and she was calling her son,” Capasso said. “Supposedly, he had earbuds on, and she went back up and never made it back down.”

Police said they do not believe the fire was the result of criminal activity, but the investigation into the cause is ongoing.

Neighbors say they are devastated by the tragedy. One woman told News 12 Long Island she saw Montagna being wheeled away by paramedics. “I saw him on a stretcher,” she said. “It’s sad.”