Fire Destroys Cortlandt Manor Family Home

Firefighters battled a blaze at a Cortlandt Manor home early this morning for hours before the situation was completely under control, officials said. The elderly couple who lived in the house at 15 Lake Road were not injured but their home is completely destroyed, officials said.

“It had plenty of oxygen and it just ran,” said Assistant Chief Adam Cerrato of the Mohegan Lake Fire Department of the fire.

The fire started around 3:30 a.m. in the greenhouse attached to the right side of the home and was caused by a faulty heat lamp, New York State Police Sgt. Neilsn said. The blaze quickly spread to the attic and across to the opposite side of the home. This is the second fire in the Town of Cortlandt this week; the first two who lived in a house on 7th Street in Verplanck.

Cerrato said that it took firefighters about 40 minutes to control the fire on Lake Road last night, and another three and a half hours to get the entire situation under control.

“There were hot pockets and we had to clear debris to the attic and cut our way into the attic,” Cerrato said.

Peekskill FAST, Buchanan cascade system, Westchester County Cause and Origin Zone 4 Team and Mohegan Lake Volunteer Ambulance Corps also responded to the fire.