(CBS) YONKERS Eight Yonkers families were left homeless by a fire that heavily damaged two buildings on Morningside Avenue. Fire officials said the fire began on a stove where pine tree shavings and pinecones were left unattended.
Intense flames ripped through the roof of a three-story Yonkers apartment building early this morning. Neighbors ran out of the building, as the fire jumped to the building next door. Not sure how far or fast the fire was going to spread, they pulled together and helped one another to safety.
"I know the site because the houses are so close out here in Yonkers that fire spread real quick so that's why I got my kids and got out," said Bianca Howell, who lives next door.
One tenant -- 48-year-old Barbara Hood - told the Journal News that she collected Christmas tree pine shavings and cones to boil for what she called a spiritual bath. She left them on her stove, and they caught fire.
Joshua Hood, Barbara Hood’s son, said he saw flames in his kitchen. He helped his mother escape the blaze, only to watch her run back inside.
"She ran back upstairs into the smoke. She ran into the apartment next to ours and grabbed the kid and made sure he got to safety," he said.
Fire officials confirmed about 17 people were inside the two buildings when the fire broke out just before 4 a.m.
Melissa Abbott's aunt and uncle were among the people who live there.
"They heard an explosion, and my uncle said the windows next door busted out. He went upstairs to get an elderly man out," she said.
Julissa Sanchez, who lives close by, said, "I hear that everyone luckily got out, which is good, but a lot of people have lost a lot of things in there.”
Several firefighters were injured in the blaze, one with tendon injuries to his hand. Eight families have been relocated by the Red Cross.
**The article didn't only cover J-Hood as you can see, so I highlighted the parts about him. It was confirmed on Channel 7 that it is the rapper known as J-Hood. They had an interview with him and he explained what happened.**
