ROCHESTER, N.Y.-- Two students from the Rochester Institute of Technology died and one was injured in a house fire at 33 Upton Park early Friday morning in Rochester's Neighborhood of the Arts.
Firefighters arrived around five minutes after the 2:39 a.m. call to find the entire first floor in flames. Three people in the house had already gotten out, alerted by the smoke detector.
Firefighters found one young man on the first floor, and two on the second floor. The victim from the first floor and one from the second died.
Killed were RIT computer-engineering student Seth Policzer, 21, of Parkland, Fla., and Syed Ali Turab, 21, of New Milford, N.J. RIT officials said details on Turab's major were not immediately known.
The injured victim, Michael DiCocco, is a fourth-year industrial design student from Canastota, New York.
RIT spokesman Paul Stella said DiCocco is in the hospital with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries. He also said the other three people who escaped were all RIT students.
The university will offer counseling for students Friday, Stella said.
Officials also plan a moment of silence at the inauguration of the university's new president, William Destler, taking place on Friday afternoon.
Witness Accounts
Next-door neighbor Craig DelGiorno, 19, said some of the survivors jumped out a second-floor window and landed on the porch and then a car.
He also said he and the landlord broke windows and tried to get the others out, but the flames spread too far, too fast.
Firefighters said the structure was a single-family home that the six students rented together. The Red Cross said the three other survivors went home with their families.
Another neighbor, Hector Perez, 43, said he smoke while watching television at his girlfriend's apartment nearby and they went out and saw the single-family house in flames.
Cause Unknown
This is the city's second major fire in two days. Rochester Fire Chief John Caufield said that the number of visibly significant fires increases in the fall and winter months for many reasons.
Investigators believe the fire was an accident, but do not know the cause yet. However, they believe the fire started in the front of the home.
No nearby homes were affected.
Upton Park is a small street between East and University avenues near Goodman Street. The area is popular with students from RIT and the University of Rochester.
Republished with permission of WHAM-TV.
