Elderly Woman's Body Found After WP Fire

Police discovered the body of an elderly woman while responding to an apartment fire Friday afternoon in the Winbrook Housing Complex on South Lexington Ave. in White Plains.

The woman, who has not been identified by police, was discovered shorty after 12 p.m. in apartment 4F, a two-bedroom apartment, said White Plains Police Commissioner David Chong. Detectives are processing the scene and the woman's body will be transported to the Westchester County Medical Examiner's office to determine the cause of death.

Firefighters forced their way into the apartment moments after receiving the call and were met by "heavy smoke and fire", Chong said. It took only a few minutes to extinguish the blaze, he said.

A recovery crew discovered the woman's body in a bedroom under heavy debris, Chong said. 

"The apartment itself was extremely clustered," Chong said. 

The fire itself was contained to the single apartment, but water damage extended to the third floor and there was smoke damage on the fifth floor, Chong said. Fire officials were at the scene Friday afternoon working to determine a cause of the blaze.

South Lexington Ave. was closed for several hours at midday as White Plains police and firefighters responded to a fire at the Winbrook Housing Complex.

The Red Cross is helping families who had to evacuate from 135 South Lexington Avenue.

Officials began letting people back inside the apartment building at about 1:15 p.m. 

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