A 2-year-old boy who was initially unaccounted for after a fire ripped through a Westchester home Saturday night has been found dead in the home's attic.
Firefighters thought the boy had been on the second floor of the home and were unable to locate his body at first. Officials said the fire left the home structurally unstable, which also made the search more difficult.
Authorities believe the fire started on the second floor of the two-story home on Sears Avenue in Elmsford at around 10 p.m. The boy had apparently been sleeping in a room in the home's attic. The cause fire of the remains under investigation.
Four people on the first floor of the house were removed by firefighters and taken to a hospital with injuries, including second-degree burns.
The child's mother and three other adults were injured, officials said. All of the adults tried to help firefighters find the child, onlookers said.
According to witnesses the fire started suddenly and spread quickly.
"We smelled smoke and then we look on top of the house and the roof was burning," said James Rhodes, a neighbor.
Before the boy's body was found, one neighbor who watched the house burn said he feared the worst.
"If the baby was upstairs it would be almost impossible the way those flames were," said John Inzar. "They were coming out both the windows, the whole floor had to be on fire."
