One dead, dozens injured, in early morning fire on Bronx River Road in Yonkers

Mike Randall and Eduardo Cuevas, Rockland/Westchester Journal News
·6 min read

YONKERS - One man was killed in an early morning apartment fire in Yonkers Wednesday amid a wild scene that included flames shooting out from windows as residents were rescued from the building, firefighters said.

City police said the fire was reported shortly before 1 a.m. in a seven-story, 95-unit cooperative apartment building on Bronx River Road.

More than three dozen others, including residents and firefighters, were reported injured.

All other residents were evacuated to Scotti Community Center just north of the fire scene.

Yonkers deputy fire chief Joseph Citrone said the cause of the fire is unknown, and investigators have been temporarily halted in their work because of all the water still pouring into the building.

Firefighters work at the scene of an overnight fire at 671 Bronx River Rd. In Yonkers March 8, 2023. One resident was killed in the fire and at least 60 families were displaced.
Firefighters work at the scene of an overnight fire at 671 Bronx River Rd. In Yonkers March 8, 2023. One resident was killed in the fire and at least 60 families were displaced.

"Once we get everything secure and stop running water, they're going to go in there and start taking a look," Citrone said. "As of right now, we have no idea what started it."

Around 1 a.m., Victor Bobea, 75, said his wife woke him up because she heard a noise. There was smoke all over their apartment.

They escaped through their balcony, and firefighters helped them out, he said from inside the Scotti Center later in the morning.

Couple just moved into building, now displaced by fire

In September, Rain Maher, 25, and her boyfriend John Cotaj, 27, had just moved into their one-bedroom apartment on the building's lobby floor.  It was the couple’s first apartment. They worked hard during the summer to afford their place, Maher added.

Early Wednesday morning, Cotaj smelled smoke. Maher scrambled to leave, wearing her Crocs and shorts into the freezing cold. It wasn’t Maher’s first fire, either. In 2015, her mom’s house in Yonkers’ Homefield neighborhood caught fire and they lost everything.

By late Wednesday morning, wearing sweats and winter coats, the couple helped carry boxes of clothes and socks delivered to the Scotti Center.

“It’s just stuff,” she said. “Thankfully me and him got out. One family in there is probably planning a funeral.”

Family members hug a parent and grandparent who is a resident of 671 Bronx River Rd. In Yonkers March 8, 2023 after an overnight fire killed one resident and displaced at least 60 families. Residents gathered in the nearby Scotti Park Community Center where the Red Cross cared for them.
Family members hug a parent and grandparent who is a resident of 671 Bronx River Rd. In Yonkers March 8, 2023 after an overnight fire killed one resident and displaced at least 60 families. Residents gathered in the nearby Scotti Park Community Center where the Red Cross cared for them.

Lack of Yonkers housing complicates fire recovery

Late in the morning, Jim Killoran, executive director of the housing nonprofit Fuller Center, unloaded boxes of clothes out of a van to the Scotti Center. He pointed to difficulties finding housing for people displaced in a city that suffers from both a chronic shortage of housing, as well as several disasters that further cause people to lose their homes.

"The fun part begins when there's no housing," he said, adding that it showed the need for affordable housing, and finding landlords who would take in people displaced.

"That's why I get involved," he said, "because I know there's no rooms at the end."

Chaotic scene, residents hanging out of windows

Citrone told the USA Today Network/lohud.com that when firefighters first arrived, they found flames shooting out from windows of a first-floor apartment.

Within minutes it had spread to other apartments and forced a mass evacuation.

"There were a lot of rescues last night and a lot of people hanging out windows we had to grab," Yonkers Firefighters 628 Union President George Rocha said.

The man who died was found in one of the units and was moved outside, where firefighters tried to perform CPR, but Rocha said they were unable to resuscitate him.

Firefighters work at the scene of an overnight fire at 671 Bronx River Rd. In Yonkers March 8, 2023. One resident was killed in the fire and at least 60 families were displaced.
Firefighters work at the scene of an overnight fire at 671 Bronx River Rd. In Yonkers March 8, 2023. One resident was killed in the fire and at least 60 families were displaced.

City spokesperson Christina Gilmartin said 32 firefighters were treated for minor injuries. Citrone said at least six residents were taken to hospitals to be treated for major and minor injuries.

Rocha said one firefighter suffered a major injury when he was hit in the face with the metal part of a hose. He remained in the hospital Wednesday morning.

Other injuries suffered by residents included dehydration, exhaustion, sprains or smoke inhalation.

Women whose parents and grandparents are residents of 671 Bronx River Rd. hug outside the Scotti Park Community Center in Yonkers March 8, 2023 after an overnight fire killed one resident and displaced at least 60 families. Residents gathered in the community center where the Red Cross cared for them.
Women whose parents and grandparents are residents of 671 Bronx River Rd. hug outside the Scotti Park Community Center in Yonkers March 8, 2023 after an overnight fire killed one resident and displaced at least 60 families. Residents gathered in the community center where the Red Cross cared for them.

Crews were still on the scene as of 10:30 a.m. dealing with hot spots.

Officials said the roof collapsed and the building sustained extensive water damage.

More than 100 firefighters from Yonkers and the surrounding area responded to the city to battle the blaze.

Rocha said an elevated parking garage blocked trucks from getting close to the flames.

"The building is high and set back, so to try and attack it from the road...was a bit difficult," Rocha said.

He said the fire displaced at least 90 people.

Bronx River Road between Midland Avenue and Mile Square, and other roads in the vicinity of the fire, were closed on Wednesday.

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The city's Office of Emergency Management and the American Red Cross Greater New York are assisting displaced residents.

Red Cross spokesperson Michael de Vulpillieres said more than 60 families were registered for assistance at the Scotti Community Center, just north of the fire, as of the late morning. The Scotti Center planned to remain for residents to access services from the Red Cross and other agencies. The city would provide vouchers for 40 hotel rooms — including those that are pet-friendly for residents — for at least two nights, through the city's $100,000 disaster relief fund, Gilmartin said.

The building is a co-op, with many people appearing to have been subleasing, Gilmartin added. This could mean they might not have renter's insurance to recover losses from the fire.

Donations for people displaced are accepted at the Community Kids Closet inside the Yonkers Police Athletic League, 127 North Broadway, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. any day of the week. Organizers said they only accept clothes, shoes and toiletries. For people seeking assistance, or others with questions, they can contact Laura.Yakaboski@ypd.yonkersny.gov or 914-377-7293. More information is available at YPDcommunity.com.

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Siblings fled out fire escape

In the early afternoon, brothers Julius Victor and Jeremiah Louis Rivera, respectively 12 and 11, walked out of a nearby Irish pub, Burke’s Restaurant and Bar, that opened a free buffet with penne pasta, chicken fingers and salad for people displaced. The Riveras took food to go as they went with their uncle, Robert Flores, to his home in Connecticut. Their mother is pregnant, just three weeks away from her due date, Flores added.

Hours earlier, their mother woke them up because she heard someone yelling “Fire! Fire!" and she smelled the smoke, Julius said. The brothers then looked out of their second-floor apartment door and saw thick, black smoke down the hallway. They fled through the fire escape.

“Losing our house is a very tough situation now,” Jeremiah, the younger brother, said on the walk to their uncle’s car, with the scorched building behind them.

“Yeah, but we’re not really that homeless,” his older brother responded. “We still got family.”

USA TODAY contributed to this report.

Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record, Poughkeepsie Journal and The Journal News/lohud. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com or on Twitter @mikerandall845

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: One man killed in Bronx River Road fire in Yonkers