Bedford Hills blaze: Firefighter trapped as roof collapses

A three-alarm fire in Bedford Hills gutted an unoccupied 3,000-square-foot ranch house early Saturday, burning for hours and injuring several firefighters, including one who was briefly trapped after the roof collapsed.

Firefighters arrived at the blaze, which was first reported around 2:54 a.m., well after it had started, said Assistant Bedford Hills Fire Chief Joseph Lombardo. He declined to speculate on the cause of the fire, or say if it was considered suspicious.

"The house was well-engulfed, well-advanced upon our arrival," Lombardo said.

Up to 75 firefighters poured water on the four-bedroom house at 27 Bisbee Lane, which was built in 1958, according to online real estate listings. A few hours after firefighters arrived the blaze was under control, but not before a roof collapse near the "tail end" of the operation, Lombardo said.

The owner, Thalia Stamatelos, who bought the home in January with her husband, said one firefighter was trapped for around 10 minutes after the collapse, and had to be taken to the hospital with burns.

"I'm in tears because I know one of (the firefighters). The thing collapsed on them, the roof," Stamatelos said. "For this piece of crap house."

None of the injuries the firefighters sustained were considered life-threatening, Lombardo said, and the home, which Stamatelos described as a " '60s rambling ranch," was apparently unoccupied when the fire started.

Stamatelos said she and her husband — who live elsewhere with their two young sons — bought the home with no plans to move in, intending to demolish it and build anew.

They learned of the blaze when they received a call around 6:30 a.m. from a contractor looking to do post-fire renovation work.

"We didn't plan to do that at all," Stamatelos said, "We don't even have fire insurance on it."

She learned only later that the man on the phone had nothing to do with the Fire Department.

"It was 6:30 in the morning. We were scared," she said. "We knew no one was in it, but we didn't know why" it happened.

Lombardo said that fighting the blaze was complicated because the home was in an area with no fire hydrants, on a dirt road less than a mile from Interstate 684.

Eight tankers shuttled water from hydrants closer to the town center, Lombardo said, describing that as a routine solution. At least six fire departments responded.

"We had a constant water flow," he said.

Stamatelos said she and her husband planned to go forward with plans to demolish the house, especially now. They had spent the time since closing on the house lining up permits to demolish it. Asbestos and water testers had inspected the home as recently as last week.

"The house was a mess," Stamatelos said. "It had one wing, another one added. Two different septics. It was a disaster."

Asked what they planned to construct after the demolition, Stamatelos said, "something modern."

"I'm just very upset that all of these people had to come and deal with this," she added.

Twitter: @erikshilling