Family of Four Loses Home and Dogs to Blaze in Mount Morris

MOUNT MORRIS — An early evening fire destroyed the home of a mother of three and claimed the lives of their four dogs in Mt Morris on Wednesday.

Neighbors said that they saw smoke pouring from the roof of 64 Chapel Street at about 6:30p.m. on Wednesday. They immediately called 911 and some ran to help, but the fire was too intense to enter the house. Fortunately, the four residents, Tosha Norton and her three young children, were unhurt since they were away from home at the time.

“I was mowing the lawn, and all of a sudden I heard a ‘pop!'” said neighbor Fred Bonadonna, 58, whose lawn remained unfinished for the rest of the day. “I saw smoke pouring out of the roof. I came and got my wife to call 911, then went to their door because the kids might have been in there. I was banging and banging on the door, but the smoke was just too intense, and I had to step back.”

It appears that the family dogs quickly asphyxiated once the smoke built up inside.

“When I was banging on the doors I didn’t hear the dogs at all,” added Bonadonna soberly. “The dogs weren’t burned at all. They might have already passed when I got there.”

Neighbors said that Norton has always been friendly and pleasant, and that her children are friends with other kids in the neighborhood.

“She’s very nice,” said Jessica Flynn, 30, who saw flames shooting from the left side of the house on Wednesday. “Her son plays with mine sometimes.”

“The Red Cross came in a car from Canandaigua,” added Bonadonna. “They said they’d help them out, give them a place to stay. The family was very nice, we never had any problem with them.”

PHOTO CAPTION: Photo/Conrad Baker