Mother of two dies in fatal fire

A local mother of two was killed in a fire in Bellmore early Saturday morning. The woman, whose children were not home at the time, was identified as KerryAnn Dudley. 

Bellmore Fire Department public information officer Vinny Scaduto said the Fire Department received a call at 2:33 a.m., but by the time first responders got to the Croydon Drive home a few minutes later, the home was engulfed in flames. 

Chief Robert Taylor was the first to arrive on the scene, and confirmed that Dudley, 42, was inside the home. “Taylor attempted to make entry into the home, but was forced back due to the intense heat and flames,” Scaduto said.

Some 100 firefighters and 25 fire trucks responded, from North Bellmore, Merrick, Wantagh, North Merrick, and East Meadow as well as Bellmore. The first companies on the scene attacked the fire from the back and front of the two-story house, Scaduto said. The inside stairs of the home were destroyed and the second floor had partially collapsed by the time firefighters got inside the home, and they were recalled because of the possibility of further collapse.

Neighboring homes had exterior damage due to the heat of the flames, but no structural damage. 

The fire was believed to be accidental, but the Nassau County Police Department Arson/ Bomb unit is continuing an investigation.