Kathy Whyte/ WNBF News
Kathy Whyte/ WNBF News
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Johnson City fire officials say a damaged ceiling light on the back porch is to blame for an apartment building fire Sunday on Baker Street that claimed the life of a 26 year old woman. 

Officials also say there were no working smoke detectors in the first floor apartment of the three story building where Sarah Wenzinger was found, unresponsive in a bedroom.

She was pronounced dead at Wilson Memorial Regional Medical Center and an autopsy found the woman died as a result of smoke inhalation.

Her boyfriend, James McCoy III was found outside the building with burns to his head, neck and back. He was transferred to Upstate medical Center’s burn unit in Syracuse and was last listed in fair condition.

The couple’s six year old son and Wenzinger’s brother, who was also in the apartment, got out safely.

Investigators say working smoke detectors on the second floor alerted other residents, who were also able to escape.

 

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