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One person was killed and several others injured during a fire at a Southern Westchester home in which an accelerant may have been used to start the fire
The fire took place around 3:48 a.m., Monday, Nov. 2, at 144 Waverly Street, said Yonkers Police Detective Lieutenant Dean Politopoulos.
When police and fire arrived on the scene, they located smoke and fire inside the first-floor apartment of the two-story structure, Politopoulos said.
Firefighters brought the fire under control and cleared the building.
Several people were injured as a result of the fire, including one fatality and one victim presently in critical condition, he added.
Police cordoned off the scene and parallel arson and criminal investigations were initiated.
Detectives from the Major Case Squad, Crime Scene Unit, and Yonkers Police and Fire Department Arson Investigators responded to the scene, interviewing subjects and witnesses, recovering surveillance video, and processing forensic and trace evidence.
Preliminary investigation has yielded evidence that an accelerant may have been used to start the fire.
It appears that the first-floor apartment was occupied by eight persons, seven members of the same family and one guest; the oldest member of the family, 75-year-old Victorino Martinez, perished at the scene; a 49-year-old female victim, the spouse of Martinez, suffered severe burns to over 75 percent of her body and is currently in critical condition at a local trauma center, Politopoulos said.
Their three adult children suffered serious non-life-threatening injuries, and two young children were being treated for shock and smoke inhalation.
No other injuries were reported at the scene.
Investigators are actively working to determine the sequence of events and are examining every possibility, including the likely potential that this incident was domestic in nature.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the Yonkers Police Detective Division at (914) 377-7724 – all calls will remain confidential.
All anonymous tips can be sent by texting the keyword YPD plus the tip to 847411.
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