Victim Identified in Midland Avenue House Fire in Rye
The Rye Police Department and its Public Safety Commissioner Robert Falk has identified the victim in the previously reported house fire on Midland Avenue. Cecelia Kussner, 85, was found during search and rescue operations on the second floor of 490 Midland Avenue. Found unconscious, she was given medical care and transported to Green Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family. The full announcement from the department follows.
(PHOTO: Fire scene Saturday at 490 Midland Avenue. Courtesy: Mamaroneck FD.)
From Rye PD:
"Woman dies in Saturday morning Fire in Rye, New York
One resident died in a Saturday morning fire at 490 Midland Ave. The City of Rye Police and Rye Fire Department were dispatched at 12:10 am to a residence located in the 500 block of Midland Ave. Police arrived to find fire coming from the second floor of the residence. Rye Firefighters made an aggressive attack inside the residence. Heavy Fire was found on the second floor where firefighters conducted a search and rescue in which they found one adult female unconscious on the second floor and provided immediate emergency medical care with assistance from Rye Brook Portchester Emergency Medical Services. The victim was transported to Greenwich Hospital where she was pronounced dead. The victim was identified as Cecelia Kussner, 85.
The incident was upgraded to a second alarm, bringing in Firefighters from the Town of Harrison, Town of Mamaroneck, and the Village of Mamaroneck. The fire was extinguished within 45 minutes and no other injuries were reported. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The Rye Fire Department, Westchester County Cause and Origin Team, and the Rye Police Department are working collectively to determine the cause of the fire."
