Two children reported trapped in a burning building were declared dead later, and a man was hospitalized with burns after a fire on Dehning Road in the town early Friday, authorities said.
A boy, 1, and a girl, 3, died, the Delaware County Department of Emergency Services said.
Authorities withheld the victims’ names Friday and said the cause of the blaze at the four-unit apartment building is under investigation.
State police at Oneonta confirmed that two children were declared dead at the scene. An adult was taken to Upstate Medical University Hospital in Syracuse for burns, troopers said.
Fifty to 60 firefighters from multiple fire departments responded to the call for the blaze in the East Meredith Fire District, which was reported at about 1:45 a.m., officials said.
“When you left East Meredith, you could see the glow in the sky,” according to David Briggs, chief of the East Meredith Fire Department.