'Unimaginable Loss': Couple Dies in Troy Fire as Daughter, 11, Fights for Life and Son Escapes Flames

A couple and their 11-year-old daughter have died after a house fire ripped through their home in Troy, New York, on Sunday night, killing seven of the family's huskies and forcing their 13-year-old son to jump from a second-floor window to escape.

Dominick Rizzo Jr, 37, and his fiancée, Alicia Ruefle, 39, died in hospital after being pulled from the burning home, while their daughter, Abigail Rizzo, 11, also died after being taken to Westchester Medical Center.

'Two children are now facing the unimaginable loss of their parents and a young girl is fighting for her life,' Troy mayor Carmella Mantello told reporters at Troy Fire Headquarters on Monday before the girl's death was announced. 'There are no words that can adequately describe the loss this family is experiencing.'

Mantello said Rizzo was pronounced dead overnight, while Ruefle died after being transferred to the burn unit at Westchester Medical Center. The girl was also being treated there before her death, while her 13-year-old brother was taken to Albany Medical Center for evaluation after escaping through a second-floor window.

Rescue Effort in Troy Fire

Emergency crews were called to the single-family home in Troy's Beman Park neighbourhood shortly after 9.30pm. Troy Fire Department said 911 dispatchers had received reports of flames and of people possibly trapped inside.

Firefighters quickly established that the blaze was centred on the family's home rather than the neighbouring property first cited in the call. Fire Chief Richard Cellucci said crews from Troy and surrounding communities pulled all three family members from the second floor within about five minutes.

A third alarm was raised because of the intensity of the fire, and crews from Watervliet, Green Island and Albany were called in to help. Two Troy firefighters suffered minor burn injuries, were treated in hospital and later released.

The New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control is leading the investigation. Cellucci said the exact origin was still unknown as of late Monday morning, but he believed the fire began on the first floor and said the home appeared not to have working smoke detectors.

Community Response to 'Unimaginable Loss' in Troy Fire

Rizzo was the son of Dominick Rizzo Sr, a security employee with the Troy City School District. Mantello, who said she knew Rizzo Sr professionally, described the mood in the district's schools as one of deep shock.

'The whole school community is just absolutely devastated,' she said. It is not yet clear which schools the couple's children attend, and no district has released their names.

Troy Animal Control said three other dogs survived and were taken to a local veterinary hospital, while one dog remains unaccounted for. Neighbours told local reporters the home was full of children and dogs, and that the pets were important to the children.

'I know that when it comes to a fire, dogs are really not the most important but they are important to a lot of people,' one neighbour told local television. 'I know they were important to this family, especially the young children.'

A GoFundMe page set up for the family had raised more than 20,000 dollars, about £15,000, according to its organisers. The appeal asks family, friends, neighbours and the wider community to come together to help the family through the months ahead.

'We are asking our family, friends, neighbours, and community to come together and help carry this family through the months ahead,' the appeal reads.