Grand Street Fire Extinguished by Croton Fire Dept

A fire in the kitchen of an empty apartment at Croton's Van Wyck Apartments caused half of Grand Street to be shut down at 12 p.m. Tuesday.

Nobody was hurt in the incident, though emergency workers vacated the complex.

An apartment building resident called 911 to report the fire. When they arrived, Croton Fire and Police departments had to break down the door to the first floor apartment to put out the fire.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to Assistant Fire Chief John Munson, a 17 year veteran of the department, though he said it “appears accidental.”

David Childs heard a neighbor’s smoke detector and called emergency services.

“I went across the hall and I smelled smoke,” said Childs, who saw black smoke coming out of his neighbor’s door across the hall.

Childs began to tell his neighbors to “get out, we have a fire.”

Nobody was hurt in the fire, and the Van Wyck Apartments were evacuated.

Half of Grand Street heading toward the apartment complex, located at 94 Grand St., was blocked off to allow for heavy fire truck traffic. The Ossining and Buchanan Fire Departments also responded to the call, and the Montrose Fire Department provided “standby” support for the Croton Fire Department, according to Munson.

Residents were allowed back into their apartments at approximately 1 p.m.

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