WEST BLOOMFIELD, N.Y. -- An 85-year-old woman died after she was pulled on Thursday night from a house on fire in West Bloomfield, Ontario County.
The victim was identified as Mary Jo Mastantone.
The fire on Route 65 was called in by a man driving by who saw smoke in the area around 10:30 p.m., according to deputies.
At the same time, a man came running out of the home and met the caller, who helped him try to go back in to find his relative.
"He came out through the smoke and met the gentleman, the passerby who actually gave him a flashlight," said Sgt. Everett Roach. "He tried to go back in while he was waiting for the fire department to find his relative inside the home, and wasn't able to get back in with the intensity of the smoke."
Mastantone was found by firefighters at the top of the 2nd floor stars. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The man who got out of the home, identified as 56 years old, is expected to recover.
Fire investigators say the fire started in the kitchen area but they don't yet know how.