Firefighters rescue elderly woman from house fire in Mount Vernon
MOUNT VERNON, Westchester County (WABC) -- Firefighters braving the bitter cold weather rescued a resident from a stubborn house fire in Westchester County.
The blaze broke out Monday afternoon on 5th Street in Mount Vernon. The house was fully engulfed in flames by the time firefighters arrived.
An elderly woman was removed from the home and transported to the hospital. She is expected to survive. Her home health aide was also pulled to safety.
No other injuries were reported.
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Fire departments from neighboring towns responded to assist the crews from Mount Vernon. Their efforts were complicated by the strong winds and brutally cold conditions.
"This is really bad," said Mount Vernon Fire Commissioner Ted Beale. "The freezing weather, the wind and the water to spray off the hose lines. This is a killer. Firemen hate fires in the winter because of this."
Thousands of gallons of water used to battle the fire froze on contact with everything and created icy conditions on the street.
"Every year on the coldest day we have a major fire," said Beale.
One of Westchester's Bee-Line buses was brought in to give resting responders shelter from the cold.
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