Fires Claimed Huntington Residents' Lives in 2013

Numerous fires broke out in Huntington in 2013, but it was a fire late on Nov. 14 that brought tragedy to one family and the community.

Two people, Reyna Paris, 64, and one of her daughters, Rosemarie Martinez, 29, died when their Fourth Avenue home went up in flames. A son, Joseph Martinez, 26, managed to escape. 

Huntington Manor firefighters struggled to locate and rescue the two women, who were in separate bedrooms. Nearly 100 firefighters and EMS personnel from eight departments were called to the scene, as were Suffolk County police, including the homicide squad.

Rosemarie Martinez had Down Syndrome and Joseph Martinez was badly injured two years ago in a motorcycle accident. 

No cause has been reported.

• A large fire broke out at Tilden Brakes on New York Avenue in July, forcing the building but not the business to close for repairs. The Montefusco family worked out arrangements with other businesses to keep operating and hope to fully reopen in the new year.
• No one was injured when a Rosemont Court home caught fire in November. The blaze apparently started in the garage.
• Occupants of a Leigh Street home escaped a fire in early November that apparently began in a light fixture.
• A Huntington Manor firefighter was injured Dec. 12 when a house on East 20th Street caught fire. 
• Occupants of a house on Nassau Road escaped a blaze that brought about 70 firefighters to the scene where they contended with both the fire and the heat.
• In January, a three-car garage was destroyed by fire but firefighters stopped it from spreading to the main part of the house.