The 21-year-old woman killed in a raging fire at a home in Needham on Christmas Eve has been identified as Kayla Corrigan, a college student who was set to graduate next year.
Corrigan was a senior in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University studying marketing management and was on track to graduate this spring, according to a university official.
Syracuse Senior Vice President and Chief Student Experience Officer Allen W. Groves announced Corrigan’s death in a letter posted to the university’s website on Friday.
“Kayla immersed herself into internships strengthening her understanding of navigating marketing decisions in an evolving global landscape. Outside of the classroom she was an active member of Sigma Delta Tau,” Groves wrote.
Corrigan graduated from Newton Country Day School in 2022, according to her LinkedIn page, and a photo showing several young women holding their diplomas was posted to her Instagram account June 12, 2022 with the school tagged as the location.
A GoFundMe launched by Amy Lund of Millis, along with Christa Corrigan and benefitting Alyssa Corrigan, also identified Kayla Corrigan as the person who died in the house fire.
“Words cannot express the depth of our grief or the shock of this loss,” the page reads. “Kayla was a beautiful 21 year old girl who was deeply loved by many. Her absence has left a space that can never be filled. We will carry her memory with us always.”
A photo of Kayla Corrigan used on the GoFundMe page also appears on her Instagram account, posted in May with the caption “Besos para Barcelona💋” or “Kisses for Barcelona.”
Corrigan’s LinkedIn page says she was a fundraising coordinator for her sorority for the 2023-24 school year and that she helped raise more than $12,000 for a non-profit in Syracuse that provides emergency housing and resources for domestic abuse survivors.
The page also says she interned last summer at a public relations and communication firm in Boston.
What happened on Christmas Eve
Firefighters responded to 28 Woodworth Road just before 5 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 24, and arrived as smoke and flames billowed from the three-story home, according to the State Fire Marshal’s office. The first responders attempted to push into the home but were turned back as flames spread quickly through the building.
Two other adults who were in the home escaped. Corrigan was later found dead inside.
“It’s just a heart-wrenching event for them and the community,” Needham Fire Chief Thomas Conroy said Wednesday as he offered condolences.
State officials said Friday that the fire appeared to have originated in the garage and sparked accidentally.
The fire is still under investigation, but preliminary evidence suggested the cause was “not suspicious,” the Department of Fire Services said.
How to help
The GoFundMe page says donations from the fundraiser will help cover funeral costs and temporary living expenses for the Corrigan family. The fundraising goal is $150,000, and as of Saturday afternoon, more than $122,000 had been raised.
About 1,600 people have donated so far, including a $2,000 donation and 16 $1,000 donations.
Battling the fire
Seventy-five firefighters from departments across the region battled for seven hours Wednesday morning to bring the flames under control at the Needham home, the office of State Fire Marshal John M. Davine said.
Firefighters from Boston, Brookline, Dedham, Natick, Newton, Norwood, Milton, Wellesley and Westwood provided mutual aid during the four-alarm response.
The six-bedroom, 6,500-square-foot home was built in 2014. It is assessed at $2.5 million, according to town property records.
On Christmas morning, a Needham Police cruiser sat parked out front of the home as yellow police tape surrounding the lawn fluttered in the wind.
Flames had scorched the wood and stone structure, leaving a broad hole in the right side of the roof visible from the road. Some of the windows were broken, and an open front door provided a clear view through the darkened first floor and into the tree-lined backyard.
Christmas wreaths hung above the entrance way and on either side of the front door. Strands of Christmas lights lined the edge of the roof, some of them tattered and hanging off the home.
The torched shells of two cars sat just outside a garage on the right of the home.
An examination of the scene, witness interviews and other evidence led investigators to believe the fire started in the back of the attached garage. Investigators identified several heat sources that could have contributed to the fire, all of which would have been accidental, Davine’s office said.
“Our thoughts have been with the family since the early morning hours of December 24 and they remain with the family today,” Conroy, the Needham fire chief, added Friday. “I want to recognize the outpouring of compassion from Needham residents who are sending their love and support.”
Fires like this are more common in the winter, Davine said Wednesday.
“Please be sure you have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms on every level of your home and a practiced escape plan in the event of an emergency,” he said.
Nicole Simmons contributed to this report.
