Community assisting over 100 residents displaced by Mt. Vernon apartment building fire

Community stepping up for Mt. Vernon apartment fire victims

After a fire that has displaced over 100 people in Mount Vernon, the community is stepping up. FOX 5 NY's Antwan Lewis has more.

MOUNT VERNON - Over 100 residents are now displaced after a massive fire overtook an apartment building in Mount Vernon, but the community is doing everything it can to help.

Community assistance for displaced families

What we know:

Both city officials and the American Red Cross have transformed Holmes Elementary School into a disaster relief center, offering food, clothing and shelter to those that are currently displaced.

FOX 5 NY's Antwan Lewis spoke with one of the displaced individuals, the mother of a 6-year-old boy.

"He asked if his friend could come over and play," Kay Bowman, the displaced resident, told Lewis. "He wants to go home," she explained, referring to her son.

The City of Mount Vernon's government website provides details of how people can help the displaced residents, including where and how to make monetary donations.

The backstory:

Authorities said the Mount Vernon Fire Department received reports of smoke around 2:39 a.m. Sunday from a residential building on Cottage Avenue. Crews arrived within five minutes to find heavy smoke pouring from the seventh floor, officials said.

The fire quickly escalated, reaching five alarms as neighboring departments responded to assist. Firefighters rescued two women using ground ladders — both were taken to Jacobi Medical Center and are expected to recover.

Officials said five Mount Vernon firefighters suffered minor injuries while battling the blaze.

Residents described a frantic effort to escape in the middle of the night as smoke filled the hallways. One woman told FOX 5 that a neighbor ran door to door, banging on doors to wake people up and help them get out.

Another man said his mother lived inside the building and wasn’t answering her phone when he arrived.

"My mom wasn’t answering the phone when I got there — I was worried she didn’t make it," he said.