57 year old man perished in the blaze
Sheriff Thomas J. Dougherty advises of a fatal house fire that occurred Tuesday morning in the Town of West Sparta.
On October 11th, 2022 at approximately 12:07am, Sheriff’s Deputies and emergency personnel responded to Nunda Byersville Rd in the Town of West Sparta for the report of a fully engulfed house fire.
Sheriff’s Deputies arrived on scene and found a fully engulfed house fire. Fire Departments from West Sparta, Dansville, Nunda, and Groveland assisted at the scene. Dansville EMS also assisted at the scene along with the NYS Police and the Livingston County Office of Emergency Management.
Human remains were located inside the residence and were transported by the Livingston County Coroner’s Office to the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office for identification purposes. The Medical Examiner was able to identify the remains as the homeowner, 57-year- old, Dennis Palmer.
Handling the on scene operations and investigations for the Sheriff’s Office were members of the Patrol Division, Criminal Investigations Division, Forensic Identification Unit; all with the assistance of the Communications Bureau.
The fire remains under investigation by our Office with the preliminary cause being that of a woodstove in the residence.
