KATONAH, N.Y. A fire raged through a two-family house at 22 Anderson Road early this morning, destroying the second floor, damaging the first and displacing the home's five occupants.
The Katonah Fire Department was dispatched at 4:11 a.m., said Katonah Chief Jim McHugh. The Bedford Police Department was already involved when the company arrived, he said, and informed him that all the residents had escaped the house in time.
"When I got there, the flames were coming out of the second floor window, McHugh said.
Mutual aid companies were also dispatched: the Bedford Hills, Mount Kisco, Golden's Bridge and Bedford Village Fire Departments were all called.
The Westchester County Cause and Origin Team was called to investigate the source of the blaze, which is currently thought to be an accidental electrical fire that started in an upstairs back bedroom, in the home of the family of three.
"The smoke detectors did their job and that's basically what saved everybody there," McHugh said.
McHugh said the house, which may be more than 100 years old, was built with a balloon frame, an early home construction method. "With the balloon construction, there are no restraints in the walls so the fire went right up into the attic," McHugh said.
McHugh said that the fire took about an hour to get under control and required the use of fire ladders. He said the attic was hard to access, since the house was not built with a hatch with attic stairs.
The propertys landlord of nine years, Howard Gilmore, said that the inside of the house looked "pretty toasted."
According to Carolyn Cherwin of the Red Cross, while the two first floor residents said they would stay with friends and family, the family on second floor required emergency lodging. The Red Cross also provided them with personal care items and food.
Well be working with both families and helping them with their long-term housing needs, she said.
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