Elmsford fire department reports three weekend fires; official says crosswalk signs and enforcement are coming

The Elmsford Fire Department reported three separate fires over the weekend and described actions taken to contain them, and a trustee said village officials are posting signs and planning enforcement at marked crosswalks to improve pedestrian safety.

A village statement recorded in the meeting said an egg-hunt community event drew more than 500 children and family members. Later that same day the fire department responded to three active incidents: a battery fire at a Brookfield location that required county hazmat assistance; a garage car fire at Nob Hill that spread to two additional vehicles; and a brush fire at the dead end of Poplar Street that officials said appears to have been intentionally set.

According to the meeting record, the Brookfield fire involved a container filled with small batteries from battery‑operated tools and 20 to 30 large batteries taken from hybrid trucks. Firefighters extinguished the Brookfield blaze in about 45 minutes but spent roughly four and a half hours on scene pulling batteries apart and continuously cooling material to prevent reignition. The transcript records that Brookfield arranged for an environmental contractor to remove and clean up battery debris and that county hazmat assisted with the cleanup.

The Nob Hill incident began with a car fire in a garage and ignited two other vehicles. The ceiling above the cars was damaged but the damage did not extend to the apartment above, the meeting record shows. Mutual aid was called for the scene.

That night, the village recorded a brush fire on Poplar Street that involved multiple trees and low brush and “appears to have been intentionally set,” according to the transcript.

Pedestrian safety: Trustee Corrales told the board she spoke with “the commissioner and chief” and said signs were placed that the public has “been seeing on 01/19” to warn commuters about pedestrians using marked crosswalks. She said a police detail to staff marked crosswalks was being planned but the timing was not firm; the transcript records her comment that the detail might start “probably starting next week, or we can't say when.”

The transcript does not identify the commissioner or chief by name in the captured segments, and it does not provide an operating schedule for any enforcement detail or a timeline for the environmental cleanup contract beyond the four‑and‑a‑half‑hour on‑scene effort at Brookfield.

Officials at the meeting thanked the fire department for its work responding to the incidents. The board did not record any formal motions tied to the incidents in the captured transcript, but trustees requested and received updates during the meeting.