NIAGARA FALLS: Victim in fatal fire identified

Local News

June 5, 2009

Staff Reports The Niagara Gazette Fri Jun 05, 2009, 11:54 PM EDT

Niagara Falls fire officials have identified the woman who lost her life during a blaze Wednesday evening at Monteagle Ridge Estates.

Fire Chief William McKay said the victim was Mary E. Trusello of 4600 Hyde Park Blvd., Apt. 150.

Trusello, 52, died in the blaze inside a two-story townhouse at the apartment complex. McKay said she was identified following an autopsy conducted by the Erie County Medical Examiner on Friday. According to McKay, the medical examiner determined the cause of death as thermal burns and exposure to toxic fire gases.

Firefighters were dispatched to the fire scene shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday and were confronted by heavy smoke coming from an end unit apartment. Firefighters found Trusello in the living room and removed her from the building for transportation to Mount Saint Mary’s Hospital. She was pronounced dead in the emergency room.

McKay said investigators from the Fire Prevention Bureau have classified the blaze as accidental and have determined that it started in the living room and most likely was ignited by smoking material.

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