Worker Dies In Overnight Bike Shop Fire, Roof Collapse: MVFD

MOUNT VERNON, NY — Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Pelham and Eastchester firefighters battled a massive blaze overnight on Mount Vernon Avenue. The body of an employee was later recovered from the Bronx River Bicycle Works site.

The New Rochelle Fire Department confirmed that they provided mutual aid fighting the three-alarm fire just before midnight. The fire at the retail and residential building was first reported just after 9:30 p.m. Thursday night and took several hours to contain with crews remaining on the scene until early the next afternoon.

The bicycle shop's owner, Edward Mitchell, who lives upstairs from his business, told The Journal News's Jonathan Bandler that smoke was already billowing out of the building by the time he was able to escape and call 911. He alerted firefighters that a worker might still be in the building.

Unfortunately, the man trapped inside was overcome before firefighters could reach him. Officials are not identifying the employee who was killed until his family can be notified.

"It's such a disaster," Mitchell told the newspaper this morning. "He was a good friend. He was a nice guy, a smart man and he could fix anything."

Mount Vernon Fire Chief John Gibson told News 12 Westchester that the fire was especially difficult to contain because of the age of the building. He said crews were fortunate to manage to keep the flames from spreading to nearby buildings.