Elementary School Closed Due To Smoke Odor From Nearby Fire

NEW ROCHELLE, NY ? Students at Trinity Elementary learned lessons remotely on Tuesday after a massive fire in a residential building several blocks away left a lingering smoke odor in the building.

School officials said the school will follow a remote learning model while crews "address any air and cleaning issues." The public school is several blocks away from the scene of the fire at the Trinity Co-ops on Union Street, but the area around the school was surrounded in thick smoke as firefighters spent hours trying to put out the blaze on the upper floors of the six-story building.

SEE ALSO: 'Everything Is Gone': Bee-Line Buses Help Evacuate High-Rise Fire

Meanwhile, the gym at Monroe College, just a few blocks in the opposite direction, has been transformed into a makeshift shelter for those displaced by the fire. Officials say at least 50 people were unable to return to their home last night as sub-freezing temperatures gripped the region.

Volunteers with the Fuller Center helped to transport supplies and fire victims from the initial staging area at the Fuller Center's New Rochelle headquarters on Main Street. The Monroe College baseball team even lent a hand helping to prepare the athletic facilities for the influx of displaced residents.

A ladder truck from the Yonkers Fire Department joined two New Rochelle ladders battling the stubborn three-alarm blaze in the most challenging of conditions Monday afternoon. Residents of the Trinity Co-op said they were given moments to evacuate after fire broke out on the top floors of the six-story residential complex.

Fortunately, there were no serious injuries reported.

Gusty winds made the blaze difficult to control. Black smoke and flames carried by the high winds could be seen as far as 2 miles away for much of the afternoon on Monday. The fire was not knocked down until late in the evening and fire crews remained on the scene well into the night, keeping an eye on potential hotspots.