A small flame from a candle is being blamed for a fire that has upended the lives of several families in Yonkers. According to News 12, the blaze left multiple households homeless, turning an ordinary morning into an emergency for the people who lived in the building.
The fire broke out earlier in the week. Officials said the flames started on Wednesday morning at a multifamily home, striking a residence that housed more than one family under the same roof.
The location and scope of the blaze were quickly established. According to News 12, the fire began on the third floor of the home on Cliff Avenue, where the flames were concentrated during the incident.
Even though the fire itself stayed on the top floor, the damage did not. Crews said there was a lot of water damage throughout the entire house, the kind of collateral harm that often comes with putting out a blaze and that can make a home unlivable well beyond the area that actually burned.
Amid the destruction, there was one crucial piece of good news. According to News 12, no one was hurt in the fire, sparing the families a far worse outcome even as they were left to deal with the loss of their homes.
With the cause pinned on a candle, the fire stands as a reminder of how quickly an open flame can escalate inside a home. For the displaced families in Yonkers, the immediate challenge now is finding somewhere to stay while the water-damaged building is assessed and repaired.