At 1036 hours, Hartsdale Fire units responded to a report of smoke on the top floor of 177 East Hartsdale Ave. Upon arrival, Engine 170 searched the fifth and sixth floors, while Tower Ladder 15 gained access to the building's roof. A light, hazy smoke condition was discovered on the sixth floor, in the northeast corner of the building, along with an acrid smell of burning material. Engine 170's crew stretched an attack line from the fifth floor standpipe riser, while Engine 169 and Squad 15 from Greenville Fire secured a positive water source from a nearby hydrant.

The crews of E-170 and TL-15 began gaining entry into multiple apartments in the effected area, attempting to locate the source of the smoke and odor of burning. Crews from Squad 15, Engine 175, and Ladder 28 from the Greenville, Fairview, and Scarsdale Fire Departments aided in the search and evacuation of the building's fifth and sixth floors. The smoke was found to be emanating from a small fire in the bathroom of an apartment on the sixth floor, which was promptly extinguished by FD personnel. Minimal overhaul and ventilation operations were necessary, and all fire dept units returned to service shortly thereafter.