Apartment Fire Leaves Resident Dead, Multiple Hospitalized In Bronxville

By Ben Crnic From Daily Voice

A late-night apartment fire in Westchester County claimed one life and sent multiple people to the hospital after frantic rescue efforts by firefighters, police, and neighbors. 

The fire was reported just before 10 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7, at 160 Lake Ave. in Bronxville, where callers said several residents were possibly trapped on the second, third, and fifth floors of the multi-story building, Eastchester Fire District Chief Brian Tween said on Monday, Dec. 8.

Eastchester Fire Department units arrived to find heavy fire in a second-floor apartment, prompting a second alarm that brought mutual aid from the Yonkers and Mount Vernon fire departments for both rescues and fire suppression.

According to Chief Tween, Bronxville Police officers arrived first and found the building superintendent helping the resident of the fire apartment down a ladder. Officers assisted in completing the rescue. 

Firefighters then rescued a resident from the third floor, who, along with the second-floor occupant, was taken to a nearby hospital. Meanwhile, residents on the fifth floor were able to escape on their own. 

However, Tween said one resident could not be saved and died at the scene. Their identity is being withheld pending family notification by Bronxville Police. 

The fire does not appear suspicious. The Yonkers Fire Department Cause and Origin Team is investigating, according to Tween. 

The American Red Cross is now displaced residents with emergency housing.

This is a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.