The person killed in an Auburn house fire early Tuesday morning was the property's owner.
Valerie Usowski, 42, was the owner of the home destroyed in the blaze at 47 Pulsifer Drive, the Auburn Police Department said Thursday afternoon upon receiving identification confirmation from the Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office.
The Auburn Fire Department was at the home within a minute of being dispatched around 12:45 a.m. Tuesday, but the house was fully engulfed in flames at the time. A rescue operation could not be attempted, and after the fire was under control, responders discovered a deceased person who was believed to be the home's lone occupant. The fire's cause remains under investigation, with the Auburn Police Department, Auburn Fire Department and State Office of Fire Prevention involved.