Deadly Henrietta house fire ruled 'accidental'

A deadly Sunday morning house fire in Henrietta has been ruled accidental, traced to either an electric power generator or a fireplace, authorities said.

Two people died in the blaze. The fire occurred around 3 a.m. at 131 Bradford Road, located off Pinnacle and Calkins roads.

Firefighters responded shortly after 3 a.m. to find the back of the house ablaze. Crews were quickly pushed back by heat and holes in the floor. Flames soon consumed about 70 percent of the structure, said Henrietta Fire Chief Mark Strzyzynski. It took an hour to extinguish the flames. Crews from multiple departments assisted.

Two bodies were found, one in the basement and one near the back of the house where the fire was most intense, the Strzyzynski said. Both the generator and fireplace were located at the rear of house. The house was without power, he said, possibly a result of last week's windstorm.

Names of the victims were not immediately released.

A neighbor, Scott Crowder, said an older women and longtime resident lived in the home but seemed housebound. A younger man possibly in his 20s had moved in or been staying there starting a year or so ago, he said, helping "tidy up" and make minor repairs. The neighborhood has had regular power outages over the years, so most houses have backup generators, he said.