Victims of fatal Sayre fire identified after autopsies; cause of blaze still investigated

Jeff Murray, Elmira Star-Gazette
·1 min read

Two people who were killed in a residential blaze Nov. 6 in Sayre Borough have been identified through dental records.

Bradford County Coroner James Bowen identified the victims as Tammy Stilson, 54, and Andrew Bortle, 38, both of Sayre.

The fire broke out around 4 a.m. Nov. 6 at 127 Bensley St. in the Milltown section of Sayre.

Once the flames were extinguished, firefighters found the bodies of the two victims inside the structure.

Two people died when this house at 127 Bensley St. in Sayre caught fire Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022.
Two people died when this house at 127 Bensley St. in Sayre caught fire Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022.

Autopsies were conducted on Stilson and Bortle on Nov. 8 at Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton. The autopsies confirmed that both victims died of smoke inhalation and thermal burns, Bowen said.

On Nov. 11, the Lycoming County Coroner’s Office assisted the Bradford County Coroner’s Office with specialized dental imaging X-rays to aide in the identification of both individuals.

A forensic odontologist then used those X-rays to confirm the identity of the victims.

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Bortle was a graduate of Mansfield University and had a career as a systems administrator with Lockheed Martin, according to his obituary.

Stilson worked at Kelley's Pitstop, a bar in Sayre, and was originally from Corning, according to her Facebook page.

The Bradford County Coroner's Office is assisting the Sayre Police Department and Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshals Office with the probe into the incident. The cause and origin of the blaze are still under investigation.

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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Sayre fatal fire victims identified by dental records, cause probed