Lit Cigarette Displaces 10 in New Rochelle Fire

Written by Michael Woyton

Eight adults and two children were displaced Sunday by a fire caused by a lit cigarette.

New Rochelle Fire Chief Louis DiMeglio said fire fighters responded to a call around 10:30 p.m. about a fire at 311 North Ave.

"When we got there, there was fire blowing out of a second floor window," he said.

A second alarm went out almost immediately, DiMeglio said, because there were 10 to 15 of the residents of the building on the fire escapes trying to avoid the smoke-filled hallways.

Fire fighters, using ground ladders and ladder trucks, got everyone safely out of the building, he said.

"They did an outstanding job getting everyone off the fire escapes," DiMeglio said.

Four of the residents were taken to Sound Shore Medical Center—three for smoke inhalation and one pregnant woman who wanted to be checked out medically, he said.

Red Cross officials said two families—eight adults and two children—were displaced by the fire.

DiMeglio said the cause of the blaze was a lit cigarette that was left lying around in a second-floor apartment. After the fire started the resident left the apartment leaving the door open.

That allowed the smoke to fill the hallways.

"If you have a fire in your house, close the door," DiMeglio said, because fresh air feeds the flames.