Husband Killed, Wife Injured in Upstate New York House Fire: Officials

A 67-year-old man was killed and his wife was severely burned after a fire at an upstate New York home late Monday, fire officials said.

The fire broke out in the attached garage of a three-story wood frame house in New City at about 11:30 p.m., firefighters said. When crews arrived a few minutes later, the building was engulfed in flames.

"The whole front of the house was fully engulfed up to the roof," said New City Fire Chief Jim Avaras. "Flames were 20 feet in the air."

The wife, 65, was standing in front of the building when crews arrived and told firefighters that her husband was still inside, but fire officials said they couldn’t go inside the home because of the intensity of the blaze.

Firefighters found the man’s body inside the garage after the flames were extinguished.

The wife was taken to Columbia University Medical Center’s burn unit in Manhattan with severe burns.

A neighbor who lives next door to the Rockland County home said he was sitting in his den when he heard an explosion. He said he walked outside to see what was going on and saw heavy smoke coming from the garage.