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Police: No Cause Yet in Sullivan Family Fire

This story was updated at 2:15 p.m.

CARMEL, N.Y. – Police are still trying to determine the cause of the fire that killed four members of the Sullivan family, though they were able say where in the house the blaze began.

Officials Wednesday said the fire began in the north side of the front of the house at 19 Wyndham Lane. The fire claimed the lives of Larchmont Police Capt. Thomas Sullivan, 48, his wife, Donna, 47, and daughters Meaghan, 17, and Mairead, 15. A son, Thomas Sullivan Jr., escaped the fire.

The Town of Carmel Police Department and members of the Putnam County Fire Investigation Team are still working to determine what caused the fire. Samples from the home were sent to the New York State Fire Lab Wednesday morning for evaluation. Officials said the results will be expedited.

All four bodies have been removed from the home and the Putnam County Medical Examiner conducted autopsies Tuesday night. The coroner said preliminary autopsy results showed all four died from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. A definitive cause won't be determined for another three weeks, he said.

The bodies were badly burned, officials said, and investigators used dental records to identify the victims.

Officials secured the fire scene and said they are interviewing, and in some case re-interviewing witnesses, including Sullivan Jr.

Sullivan Jr. was taken to Danbury Hospital and treated for smoke inhalation after the fire. He was released Tuesday morning and is staying with relatives. He told investigators that his father shouted warnings to the family to get out of the house.

The house was equipped with eight hard-wired smoke detectors, investigators said. It is unclear whether the detectors sounded or whether there were battery-operated backup detectors. No 911 call was made from inside the home.

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