3 people perish in early morning fire

BOLIVAR, N.Y. (WIVB) - A woman and two of her grandchildren have died in an overnight fire in the Allegany County Town of Bolivar.

Just after 4:15 a.m. Sunday morning, the frantic 911 call went out to the Bolivar Fire Department. People were trapped inside the home on Horse Run Road, and by the time firefighters arrived, they say the house was completely engulfed. It took several hours for them to extinguish the flames. The two-story home is gone, and no walls were left standing.

Bolivar Fire Chief Jim Beaton said, "We did end up calling in approximately eight units for the scene throughout Allegany, Cattaraugus and Shinglehouse."

According to State Police, five people lived inside the home. A 62-year old man and a 1-year-old were able to make it out of the house, but a 42-year-old woman and her two grandchildren, ages 2 and 3, did not survive.

NYS Police Capt. Steve Nigrelli said, "I can tell you that two of the bodies have been recovered through exhaustive search efforts by our fire personnel at the scene and the search is ongoing. We've been able to talk to the 62-year-old male and it's just one of those terrible, unfortunate tragedies that strikes once in awhile and it really brings a community like this together."

The news quickly became the talk of the small town supermarket.

Amanda Knight said, "They're regulars at the store and everybody in town knew the name when we heard it. It's just hard to imagine that it happened. Especially with the fact that the two kids were so young. I have children around that age so it's just kind of harsh."

Crews remained at the scene on Sunday, recovering the body of the third victim in the fire.