Large Yonkers apartment fire injures 2 people, impacts dozens of families

A massive fire at an apartment building in Yonkers on Tuesday injured two people, including a firefighter, and impacted dozens of families.

Flames broke out at the 15-story building on Riverdale Avenue at around 9:15 a.m. Firefighters said they encountered heavy smoke and visible fire. The blaze quickly escalated to five alarms.

Yonkers firefighters said the fire spread to nine floors because some windows were open. Video from the scene shows thick, black smoke and flames coming from the side of the building.

Pictures after the fire showed charred balconies with debris scattered across them. 

Mayor Mike Spano said the two people who were injured are expected to be OK.

He said out of the 240 units in the building, 20 were evacuated, and added it's unclear how many residents will be able to return to their apartments. Spano said the Red Cross and emergency officials are helping residents.

"Everyone is here. We're all operating on all cylinders. The constituents are getting responses to their needs," he said.

Once crews got the fire under control, they worked aggressively to search the building. They told some residents to shelter in place and also rescued two cats, officials said.

Resident Elizabeth Areizaga was left in tears and fearing the worst for her apartment.

"Terrible, this never happened to us before," Areizaga said. "Everything [was] in the apartment -- my cat, my dog and my medicine. I was thinking the worst, I was thinking my family was in there, hurt."

Chanel Guzman said she was suddenly woken up by her uncle.

"I heard the alarms and I'm running. We went down the staircase and it was really smokey. You can tell your breath [is] sucked out of you because of how dry it was," Guzman said.