Update, Friday, Nov. 22, 11 a.m.: Police Chief Gregory Camp confirmed that the roof fire on a Cortlandt Street apartment building was found to be accidental in nature, but left 16 residents displaced.
The County Cause and Origins team found the fire had been caused by someone doing roof work next door and using a LPG torch for patching too close to combustibles.
Meanwhile, the Red Cross assisted 16 residents in finding places to stay when the place was evacuated.
Red Cross spokesperson Caroline Sherwin said "we're really lucky" that this fire happened when it did. Kids were at school and most adults who lived there were at work. She said the fire damaged the third floor where a family of four brothers and sisters live and the building was deemed uninhabitable.
A crew of six Red Cross volunteers assisted the evacuees in a station set up for them in Village Hall. The volunteers were all about an hour's drive away when they got the call, participating in a drill, but by the time they arrived people were coming from work and learning what happened.
Volunteers helped get the third floor family set up with clothing and necessary items. The others in the building were given storage for clothing and items they were able to retrieve and food assistance. Most residents had places to stay with friends and relatives, Sherwin said, while a few required putting up in emergency lodging. A total of 12 adults and four children live in the building.
"Hopefully the repairs are made quickly and they can return home," she said.
Here's more from the police blotter timeline:
Multiple 911 calls came in at 12:45 p.m. for a working roof fire at 172 Cortlandt Street.
The Sleepy Hollow Volunteer Ambulance Corps and Mt. Pleasant medic were dispatched to standby.
Multiple fire agencies arrived to assist.
In the midst of the response, a firetruck damaged a car on the street. The driver of Ladder 38 was in the process of putting out the support arms when the right arm hit a parked car. The car sustained damage to the front driver's side fender. Police took photos of the car.
The building inspector came, along with Con Edison electric and gas.
The county cause and origin team arrived at 2:10 p.m. and determined soon after that the cause was accidental.
At 3 p.m. the Red Cross came to headquarters to assist with displaced residents.
At 5:50 p.m. the insurance adjusters came along with East Coast Environment Restoration securing the premises with the owner's brother. The owner was in Colombia at the time but was made aware of the situation.
The building was secure and locked up for the night by 9:56 p.m.
__
Original post, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 1:30 p.m.: A structure fire that brought emergency responders from Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, Dobbs Ferry, Briarcliff Manor, Valhalla, and Ossining, was quickly extinguished.
The fire called in around 12:50 p.m. at 172 Cortlandt Street was reportedly limited to the roof of the tenement building. By 1:20 p.m. the building showed no outward sign of smoke or fire damage. Firefighters were walking between this roof and adjacent buildings, with two towers extended from either side. They were spraying on the roof of 172.
Second Assistant Chief Patrick Haggarty said by 2:30 p.m. that they were still investigating the scene but weren't calling the fire suspicious. The fire was knocked down within 20 minutes with about 40 volunteer responders from the region.
A crowd of onlookers gathered on the street included Chief of Police Gregory Camp, who said, "until they know what they have, everyone's here."
The County Cause and Origins team found the fire had been caused by someone doing roof work next door and using a LPG torch for patching too close to combustibles.
Meanwhile, the Red Cross assisted 16 residents in finding places to stay when the place was evacuated.
Red Cross spokesperson Caroline Sherwin said "we're really lucky" that this fire happened when it did. Kids were at school and most adults who lived there were at work. She said the fire damaged the third floor where a family of four brothers and sisters live and the building was deemed uninhabitable.
A crew of six Red Cross volunteers assisted the evacuees in a station set up for them in Village Hall. The volunteers were all about an hour's drive away when they got the call, participating in a drill, but by the time they arrived people were coming from work and learning what happened.
Volunteers helped get the third floor family set up with clothing and necessary items. The others in the building were given storage for clothing and items they were able to retrieve and food assistance. Most residents had places to stay with friends and relatives, Sherwin said, while a few required putting up in emergency lodging. A total of 12 adults and four children live in the building.
"Hopefully the repairs are made quickly and they can return home," she said.
Here's more from the police blotter timeline:
Multiple 911 calls came in at 12:45 p.m. for a working roof fire at 172 Cortlandt Street.
The Sleepy Hollow Volunteer Ambulance Corps and Mt. Pleasant medic were dispatched to standby.
Multiple fire agencies arrived to assist.
In the midst of the response, a firetruck damaged a car on the street. The driver of Ladder 38 was in the process of putting out the support arms when the right arm hit a parked car. The car sustained damage to the front driver's side fender. Police took photos of the car.
The building inspector came, along with Con Edison electric and gas.
The county cause and origin team arrived at 2:10 p.m. and determined soon after that the cause was accidental.
At 3 p.m. the Red Cross came to headquarters to assist with displaced residents.
At 5:50 p.m. the insurance adjusters came along with East Coast Environment Restoration securing the premises with the owner's brother. The owner was in Colombia at the time but was made aware of the situation.
The building was secure and locked up for the night by 9:56 p.m.
__
Original post, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 1:30 p.m.: A structure fire that brought emergency responders from Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, Dobbs Ferry, Briarcliff Manor, Valhalla, and Ossining, was quickly extinguished.
The fire called in around 12:50 p.m. at 172 Cortlandt Street was reportedly limited to the roof of the tenement building. By 1:20 p.m. the building showed no outward sign of smoke or fire damage. Firefighters were walking between this roof and adjacent buildings, with two towers extended from either side. They were spraying on the roof of 172.
Second Assistant Chief Patrick Haggarty said by 2:30 p.m. that they were still investigating the scene but weren't calling the fire suspicious. The fire was knocked down within 20 minutes with about 40 volunteer responders from the region.
A crowd of onlookers gathered on the street included Chief of Police Gregory Camp, who said, "until they know what they have, everyone's here."
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