A deadly house fire that killed a former New York cop, his wife and two daughters, was accidentally sparked by a cigarette flicked by the son, officials said today.
Larchmont police Capt. Thomas Sullivan Sr., 48, died trying to save his family during the fast-moving blaze in Carmel on May 1.
Investigators announced that the Putnam County fire was started accidentally by the blaze’s lone survivor, Thomas Sullivan Jr., 20, after he flicked a cigarette into mulch. The son went smoking on the front porch twice that night, between 8 and 10, slowly igniting the blaze that engulfed the house by 1:43 a.m., officials said.
No charges will be filed against the young man.
“He was very forthright in telling us he was smoking that night,” said Carmel police Lt. Brian Karst. “I can tell you the young man was in shock.”
Capt. Sullivan’s wife, Donna, 47, and their daughters, Meaghan, 17, and Mairead, 15, perished in the deadly inferno at 19 Wyndham Lane.
Thomas Sullivan Jr., 20, told investigators he was jarred awake by his dad, who died going back inside the burning building to rescue his family.
Capt. Sullivan had been on the job in Larchmont since 1992. He’d previously worked in the NYPD’s 47th Precinct station house in the Bronx.