Two Men Dead in Fire in Landmark N. Y. Inn

MT. VERNON, N. Y. — Fire broke out at a landmark inn, destroying the top floors and killing two residents in billowing smoke and shooting flames, but the popular downstairs restaurant and bar were spared, officials said Wednesday.

Police officers called to the blaze late Tuesday rescued about a dozen people who lived on the upper floors of the Colonial-style Knolls Inn but could not reach two men, who died in the fire, apparently started by “careless smoking” in bed, officials said.