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Two teenagers killed in house fire in Cortlandt Manor, Westchester County
A 17-year-old girl and her 15-year-old brother died after a house fire in Cortlandt Manor, Westchester County. The fire chief says the cause was an electrical failure, likely from a power strip. Their mother remains hospitalised.
Two teenagers have been identified as the victims of a house fire that broke out in Cortlandt Manor, Westchester County, early Wednesday morning. Alina Toon, 17, and her brother Jeremiah, 15, were pronounced dead at the hospital after the blaze engulfed their home on Sherwood Road.
According to the Lake Mohegan Fire District chief, the fire started around 2.30 in the morning and was caused by an electrical failure, believed to have originated from a power strip inside the home. The Westchester County Cause of Origin team and state police are completing their documentation of the investigation.
Four people were inside the residence at the time of the fire: the two teenagers, their older brother, and their mother. The mother remains in hospital, while the older brother has been discharged. Their father, identified as Westchester County Correction Officer Gregory Toon, was at work when the fire broke out.
A growing memorial has been set up at the family home as the community gathers to remember the siblings. Counselling services will be offered at Putnam Valley High School, where both teenagers were students, to support classmates and staff through the difficult period.
First responders who attended the scene are also receiving support through peer counselling and critical incident stress management programmes coordinated at county, state, and federal levels. The fire chief noted the emotional toll on emergency personnel who worked to combat the blaze and assist the family, as reported by News 12 New York.