Peekskill house fire kills 15-year-old, firefighters say
For the second time in eight days, a teenager was killed in a Westchester County house fire.
The blaze broke out just after 6 p.m. Wednesday on High Street in Peekskill. Firefighters arrived in just two minutes to find roaring flames and thick, black smoke.
Residents said at least one person was trapped inside.
Teen found unconscious in burning home
Firefighters conducted a rapid search and found a 15-year-old unconscious on the second floor. The teen was rushed to the hospital but didn't survive.
"It was terrible. I haven't seen many fires. The flames were just coming out of the windows, five, six, seven, eight feet," neighbor Cathy Smythe said.
"It's unbelievable. Nothing you can say. Losing a child is, you can't describe it," neighbor Windell Smythe added.
Peekskill City School District Superintendent Dr. David Mauricio said the teen did not attend city schools.
"It is with profound sadness that we learned of the tragic loss of one of our out-of-district students in a fire last evening. On behalf of the entire Peekskill City School District, I extend our deepest condolences to the student's family and loved ones," Mauricio wrote on social media.
The relatively new home, built in 2013, was completely gutted by the flames. Fire investigators were focused on an upstairs room where the blaze appeared to have stated.
According to neighbors, the family who lived there had only recently moved in.
Teens killed in another recent fire
Some of the same first responders were at the scene in nearby Cortland Manor where teen siblings perished in an electrical fire on May 26.
"You hope to never go through that in your entire career, and these members just went through it now twice in a week," Peekskill Fire Chief Jim Seymour said.
Three firefighters needed treatment for relatively minor burns and smoke inhalation, the chief said.
"Those firefighters were amazing," Cathy Smythe said. "They were here fast and they did everything they could."
