Elderly Woman Dies in Yorktown House Fire
An elderly woman who lived alone died inside her burning home on March 20.
Full crews from the Yorktown Fire Department responded to the working fire on Mead Street on Sunday night at around 7 p.m. When the firefighters arrived on the scene they saw smoke coming from the two-story house and neighbors stated that the homeowner, who lived by herself, was still inside.
As crew members entered the house they were met with extremely high heat and fire on the second floor. On the Yorktown Fire Department website Alex Vergo, a firefighter/EMT, referred to the home as a “Collyer’s Mansion.”
A “Collyer’s Mansion” is a firefighting term for a dwelling of hoarders that is so filled with trash and debris it becomes a serious danger to the occupants and emergency responders.
There was “trash packed from floor to the ceiling,” Vergo wrote.
As the firemen fought their way up the stairs they found the victim, who was then removed from the house. Paramedics tried to resuscitate her but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The crews were then able to stretch a water line to the second floor where they were able to contain and extinguish the fire.
Additionally, the firemen performed the necessary functions of venting the roof, placing ground ladders, preforming primary and secondary searches, and overhauling the fire.
The woman’s identify had not been released by authorities as of press time but The Journal News reports that Nancy Lockhart, 78, lived at the address in question. The Westchester County Medical Examiner’s Office has yet to divulge the exact cause of death.
The cause of the fire, which left the home severely damaged, is still under investigation.
Yorktown was assisted in mutual aid by Bedford Hills FAST and Peekskill FAST. FAST teams are trained to search and rescue down or troubled firefighters.
The Mohegan and Somers fire departments were on standby.
No firefighter injuries were reported.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.