New Rochelle firefighters responded to a fire overnight at 43 Bayard Street on the same street as the YMCA, near the Home Depot between Weyman Avenue and Drake Avenue. The call came in about 4 am.
The house (above, right) is a 3 family home owned by Edward J. Gillespie of Scarsdale, NY.
Erika Tarantal of WNBC-TV 4 broke the story:
erika4newyork: At a house fire in New Rochelle…no serious injuries. If you happen to smell a BBQ later today you’re probably just downwind from me.
Talk of the Sound has a photographer on the scene now. Photos a little later this morning.
BTW, if you live in the area and took photos in the early hours please send them along (see CONTACT link above)
UPDATE: Photos from Bayard Street
Photo above courtesy of Google Street Maps.
Channel 12 News: Firefighter fell through the floor.
Neighbors: Thought fire started in the basement.
Journal News: “Four firefighters were injured from falling debris. Two hurt their knees, one a shoulder and one a finger. [Fire Chief Ray] Kiernan said they were treated at Sound Shore Medical Center and released.”
I will get the facts
I will go to City Hall tomorrow and look up the building permit for 43 Bayard. It would be much easier if you just said if there was a building permit taken out for the renovation but it seems you’d rather play this guessing game. I never made any ignorant statements about your house or family, I only noticed that the house was said to have been just renovated and that the fire was started due to an electrical problem. 5 firefighters were injured and it now looks as though 2 of the fire fighters will require surgery. If any of them have to retire due to the injuries sustained at you mothers house, the City of New Rochelle will be on the hook for close to 1 million in disability payments for each firefighter and that can be recovered by a responsible 3rd party (your mother) if work was done without permits. So you see all citizens of New Rochelle should be interested in what people do or don’t do with their property because we might all end up picking up the tab. If permits were taken out then bravo, if not then the fines and lawsuits should commence. I never said permits weren’t taken out I was just asking. It is you that thinks curiosity is ignorance.
43 Bayard Fire
Some one will have to pay, because if the work was not done properly
then the home owners ins. will not pay any of the costs. At least with a permit
you are covered by general liability ins. in case of an accident.
I sincerely hope none of the
I sincerely hope none of the firefighters were hurt badly. The FD has a long history of treating their injured members shabbily.
The in crowd
Not if your one of the boys…
Who did the electrical work on 43 Bayard?
I read that the cause of the fire might be electrical and that the first two floor of the house were just renovated. Were building permits taken out, was the work inspected and who did the work? And if no permits were taken out and it was not inspected, this is a perfect example of why we have the system we have. To help prevent what could have been a tragic loss of life for the resident and firefighters.
You can
You can find out at city hall.
No improvements shown on 43 Bayard St Property assessment card
303,000 market value and no improvements since 1937. Wonder how he’ll explain the 2 floors that were just renovated. I’m still wondering who the electrician was.
http://gistrend.com/imageviewer/Default.aspx?cid=1&zm=0.3&img=http://64.206.37.121/Assessor/2/514/0019/2-514-0019.tif
I’m wondering why you’re so
I’m wondering why you’re so interested in this property. “He” cannot “explain the two floors which were renovated” because my father passed away 14 years ago. My mother owns this house and she is a woman of character and would never cut corners for her own benefit. You shouldn’t comment on things you have no knowledge of. Your statements are careless and ignorant.
In all fairness
The property card lists a man as the owner of the property.
For property portal information is not exhaustive. When I run a story on a property I go to City Hall and ask to look through all the files and folders for the property.
The question is whether there is an open building permit on this property.
If there is an open building permit then fine.
If work was done previously and there is an open permit and no Certificate of Occupancy then that would be a problem.
Anyone can go to City Hall — see the clerk — and tell them you want to review all files and folders on 43 Bayard. It is a matter of public record.
In my experience, if there is a problem with the renovations and there is a fire — a fire where 5 firefighters were injured — the building department will bring the owner to court.
YOU don’t live in New Rochelle so you don’t care. I do!
I apologize if I’m wrong – If building permits were required and your mother got them I apologize. However, if this is another case of an out of city owner feeling like they can do whatever they like because New Rochelle doesn’t care, then it’s a different matter. I did not state that the first two floors were just renovated, the paper did. And a renovation usually includes new electric, plumbing etc. So if these things were done and the electric work is being looked at a a cause for the fire, then It’s reasonable to expect the city to look into this. Perhaps someone other than your elderly mother oversaw the renovations?
Additionally, your assessed value on the house is very low for a 3 family due to the fact that the assessment card shows no improvements since the depression. If the house has been improved upon it should be reassessed as everyone else’s property that is renovated.
Again If I’m wrong I apologize but if the work was done illegally and the owner has been enjoying the benefits of rent from a 3 family house but avoiding reassessment while the residents of New Rochelle deal with the parking problems, school overcrowding and high property and school taxes that these properties cause then the entire City should care.
You Shouldn’t Make Assumptions
When you don’t have all the facts, then you should refrain from commenting. Please don’t presume to know anything about my family or this house. It is incredibly irresponsible to make statements that are not true. Furthermore, how do you know if I live in New Rochelle or not? And what makes you think my mother is “elderly?” You ought to be more careful when choosing your words. My advice to you: come up with another hobby other than blogging about everyone else’s business, particulary when you don’t have your facts straight.