Woman Dies In Nyack House Fire

NYACK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A woman was killed in a morning house fire in Nyack on Tuesday.

Jarnail Kaur, 61, who owned the two-story home at 3 Waldron Ave. was found dead in the blaze, authorities said.

Her husband suffered minor injuries and was being treated at Nyack Hospital, officials said.

As many as 11 children and adults who were living in the house managed to escape, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported. Central Nyack fire Chief Michael Healy said there were illegally converted apartments in the basement.

Police say there were no working smoke detectors in the home.

Ten-year-old Marissa was getting ready for school when she smelled smoke.

"And then everybody started screaming and running down the stairs," she said.

A woman told Diamond she was stuck in traffic in front of the house when she saw the flames just before 8 a.m. She pulled over and ran to the front door.

"And I just started screaming. I was holding the door open to try to get smoke out, and I was just screaming at the top of my lungs, 'Get out, get out, get down on the floor!'" she said.

Central Nyack volunteer firefighters arrived within minutes.

"The guys got in," Healy said. "They found a woman in the right, rear corner bedroom, which is evidently where the fire started," he said.

Investigators are working to determine the cause of the blaze.