Fire destroys historic New Rochelle home

<p>Officials in New Rochelle were back on the scene of a fire that destroyed a well-known mansion in the city on Monday, trying to determine the cause.&nbsp;</p>

News 12 Staff

Nov 27, 2018, 12:57 AM

Updated 1,985 days ago

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Officials in New Rochelle back were back on the scene of a fire that destroyed a well-known mansion in the city, trying to determine the cause. 
The historic Wildcliff mansion in New Rochelle is now just a burnt out shell of its former self after a fast-moving fire Monday afternoon.
The three-alarm fire ravaged the building, which had been listed on the National Register of Historical Places. It's owned by the city of New Rochelle, but has not been used in about 10 years.
DPW crews went to the vacant mansion Monday morning to board up several windows after receiving reports that the building was not secure.
It took 40 firefighters several hours to get the flames under control.  Fire officials say the rainy, windy weather, coupled with the size of the mansion, made conditions difficult.
Westchester County's arson detection dog, Daisy, was back on the scene Tuesday morning.
City officials say they have had issues in the past with trespassers at the historical landmark, but DPW workers didn't see anything out of the ordinary Monday.
"It could have been vandals, could have been trespassers, but it was not secure and our folks came down and secured it yesterday morning," said New Rochelle City Manager Charles Strome.
City officials in New Rochelle say they're not making a rush decision to demolish the historic landmark, but they say that it most likely cannot be saved.
 


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