Neighbors are mourning a New City man who was killed overnight in a blaze that also seriously injured his wife.

Firefighters say the intense fire broke out around 11:30 p.m. on Hansen Avenue near South Little Tor Road. When firefighters arrived, the entire front part of the house and garage were engulfed in smoke and flames.

"The first sound was a boom," says Tom Ahern, who has lived next door to the victims, Luis and Ruth Fernandez, for years. "It shook the house." Ahern ran into his home to call police and he says he ran back to the Fernandez residence, where he saw Ruth Fernandez on the lawn. Mr. Fernandez was trapped inside.

She was taken to Columbia's burn center in serious condition.

Investigators say the fire started in the garage and appears to be accidental. They are working to pinpoint the exact cause of the fire.