ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Questions remain after a woman died following a house fire on Rochester’s west side. The fire happened around 3:40 p.m. Wednesday on Child Street. Another person and a firefighter were also hurt.

The remains of the house are still visible, gutted by the fire. When News10NBC’s Hailie Higgins arrived on the scene Thursday morning, 20 hours later, the smell of smoke was still in the air. Cleanup crews were out working, but there’s still a lot left to remove. Mourners also visited the scene, leaving flowers behind for the still-unnamed woman who died.

The Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office is working to confirm the woman’s identity and notify her family. Firefighters are still unsure how many people were living in the three-bedroom home, but the Red Cross came to help relocate several adults and children.

Investigators have narrowed down the cause of the fire but are still looking into exactly what happened. The fire tore through the entire house and the car parked in the driveway. Witnesses on the scene Wednesday said the woman who died may have been trapped upstairs. The heat from the fire was strong enough to reach across the street.

Rochester Fire Chief Stefano Napolitano said the combination of a wood frame house and the hot day made the fire intense and fast-moving.

The property is owned by an LLC called JFPA Moonstream, which owns over 100 other properties in the city. Higgins reached out to the LLC, but they declined to comment. This home, 349 Child Street, had five open code violations — including one for a missing smoke alarm in a bedroom. Several of the LLC’s other homes also have open violations, ranging from overgrown grass to near-abandoned properties with dozens of issues. 

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