Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad and Arson Section detectives are investigating a house fire that killed a man in Mastic. It is believed that the elderly parents who lived in the home were able to escape, but their son inside, died from the blaze.
Mastic Beach Fire Department and other volunteer fire companies responded to the scene.
Police responded to 911 calls reporting a house fire, located at 67 Overlook Drive, at 6:40 p.m.
Two residents, John and Maryann Gaeta, safely fled the fire.
Their son, Frank Gaeta, 56, was found dead on the back deck.
John Gaeta, 80, and Maryann Gaeta, 81, were transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for smoke inhalation.
A firefighter with the Mastic Fire Department suffered burns at the scene and was transported to a hospital for treatment.
Bill Biondi, Commissioner of the Mastic Beach Fire Department, said, “It was a huge fire. We got there about six minutes after the alarm and the house was fully engulfed. There were a lot of firefighters there. So many trucks that the Long Island Power Authority trucks had trouble getting into the site to turn the power off. We were there until about 11:30 PM.”
The fire is under investigation.