Fire kills 2 in Raynham

RAYNHAM, Mass.—Investigators said Monday they are leaning toward careless smoking as the cause of a fire that killed a woman and her adult son in Raynham.

The fire broke out at 92 Peter St. in a mobile home park called Pine Hill Estates at about 2 a.m. Inside the home, 83-year-old Dorothy Boreham, her 61-year-old son, Neil, and their dog were killed.

The fire chief said the victims were found in the woman’s bedroom and that it appears they tried to escape through a window.

A neighbor mourned one of her best friends.

“We had lunch every Saturday. She was just a wonderful person. I loved her. She loved me. She was just good,“ said Madeline Castelluzzo, who called 911 when she saw the fire.

Propane tanks attached to the mobile home helped fuel the fire, which was so intense firefighters couldn’t get inside for an interior attack and had to fight it from the outside. They got it under control in about 45 minutes.

The fire chief said the family had lived in the mobile home for about 35 years. The home did not have smoke detectors, which he said may have helped.

The fire started on the deck of the home, where neighbors said the son was known to smoke.