(10/27/06) SPARKILL - Investigators believe an electrical malfunction sparked a fire Friday at a home for the elderly and handicapped in Sparkill.

Residents in the three-story Thorpe Village building say they heard alarms and smelled smoke shortly after midnight Thursday. Several fire departments responded quickly and evacuated residents. Firefighters rescued 85-year-old Vyola Herring from the apartment where the fire started. Fire officials say she was unconscious and had burns on her back and hands. Herring is recovering at Westchester Medical Center. Some other residents suffered smoke inhalation. The nuns that run the complex say the outcome of the fire could have been much worse. They credit the quick response of local fire departments for helping the situation from becoming deadly.