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An early-morning fire at a Westchester apartment building resulted in the death of a 45-year-old man who was well-known by his neighbors, according to reports.
The fire broke out on Friday, Feb. 2 just after 3:15 a.m. at the six-floor Parkside Place apartment complex at 590 Fifth Ave. in New Rochelle, according to the New Rochelle Fire Department.
Arriving firefighters soon found smoke coming from the third floor on the southeast corner of the building and entered the building, eventually arriving at the apartment where the blaze began.
Inside, they found the lone tenant unconscious and brought him into the hallway to perform CPR. He was soon taken to Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, fire officials said.
The man, who was identified by officials as 45-year-old Damien Peart, was known as "Santa Claus" because of his habit of wearing a Santa hat while riding his bicycle around the apartment complex, even during the summer months, ABC 7 reported.
No other residents or firefighters were injured in the fire, which was mostly contained to the victim's apartment and put out in around 20 minutes.
The cause of the fire is not believed to be suspicious, according to fire officials, who added that smoking or an electrical issue could not be ruled out as causes.
The building's construction of concrete and steel helped stop the blaze from spreading to nearby apartments, which only suffered some minor water and smoke damage.
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