House Fire on Stonewall Court Displaces Family

Two Yorktown homeowners are lucky to have their house still standing after an attic fire severely damaged their Stonewall Court home this afternoon.

"I was at the computer, the lights flickered and I thought it was ConEd cutting back because of the heat," homeowner Louis Materasso said. "Within 30 seconds the entire lights went out, I walked to another part of the house and smelled the smoke. It went from the smell of burnt toast to the entire house smelling."

The smoke alarms went off and Materasso and his wife Marianne immediately called the fire department.

"We just ran out," Marianne Materasso said. 

When firefighters got to the scene at 128 Stonewall Court, there was heavy smoke coming from the roof of the house. The fire was reported at 1:55 p.m., Lake Mohegan Fire Chief Brian Wolert said.

"It's worse than I thought," Louis Materasso said of his home. "But it's all physical properties."

No one was injured. 

"They are very lucky," Wolert said of the homeowners who weren't supposed to be home in the first place. Had they not been home and smelled the smoke, the entire roof would have been on fire and their home extremely damaged.

Materasso said he was supposed to play golf today with his brother-in-law, who got sick and the game had to be cancelled. The man said he felt calm under the circumstances and was glad no one was injured. 

A neighbor walked over to the homeowners this afternoon offering to help them if they needed anything.

The cause of the fire is being ruled out as accidental and electrical in nature, caused by a ventilator in the attic shortening out. There is extensive water damage in the second floor and heavy damages of the roof, as firefighters had to ventilate the roof by making holes in it. The roof also collapsed in two upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms, but Materasso said they were able to save their family photographs in the basement.

The heat and humidity are always a factor when fighting a fire in the summer. It's important to keep the firefighters hydrated and rotate them, Wolert said. Yorktown Heights Fire Department firefighters were also on the scene. 

"I'm happy they got here fast and they worked hard especially in this heat," Marianne Materasso said of the firefighters. 

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