A teenage girl and her brother were killed when a devastating blaze ripped through a Westchester County home, trapping the pair inside as firefighters raced to rescue them.
The deadly three-alarm blaze erupted around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday at a Cortlandt Manor home.
The teens’ mother, who escaped, desperately told firefighters her children were trapped in their second-floor bedrooms as flames roared from the doors and windows, according to local reports.
The teenagers injured in the fire reportedly suffered severe burns over about 50% of their bodies. WABCFire crews hurled up ground ladders, smashed through windows, and pulled the kids – Alina Toone, 17, and Jeremiah Toone, 15 – from the 1,850 square-foot burning home while battling the raging inferno.
“Crews began an impeccable strategy called vent-enter-isolate-search where they put ground ladders – we couldn’t get enough access through traditional means – so crews had to get these patients out of the windows above grade,” Mohegan Lake Fire Chief Thomas Eade told News 12.
“The initial couple minutes of onset, we had two members in each window, two members trying to do an attack to try to get some water on the fire once the patients came out in serious condition.”
Eade said both teens, who suffered horrific burns over 50% of their bodies, were in cardiac arrest after being pulled from the Sherwood Road home.
Medics reportedly performed CPR at the scene and managed to restore their pulses.
Alina Toone was rushed to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, where she died, Lohud reported.
Jeremiah Toone was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital, where he also died later Wednesday, the outlets reported.
The blaze erupted around 2:30 a.m. at a Cortlandt Manor home. WABCTheir mother and older brother, who was sleeping downstairs when the fire broke out, managed to escape the home before firefighters arrived, ABC 7 reported.
One firefighter was also hospitalized and treated for exhaustion.
Westchester County officials confirmed that county correction officer Gregory Toone was the father of the slain teens. It’s not immediately clear if he was home during the fire.
“Our hearts are with Officer Toone, his family, loved ones and everyone grieving this unimaginable loss. We are also praying for the recovery of the surviving victims and for strength for the entire family in the difficult days ahead,” Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins said in a statement.
More than 45 “heroic” firefighters responded to the scene, Eade told Lohud.
The fire was ruled accidental and caused by an electrical issue from a powerstrip.
