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Intense fire leaves house ‘unlivable’
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| A Germantown firefighter feeds hose to his fellow firefighters as he keeps an eye on their progress in the smokey blaze. (Robert Ragaini/Hudson-Catskill Newspapers) |
Family on vacation during incident
By Jamie Larson
GERMANTOWN — A Germantown home was badly damaged by fire Friday. Firefighters responded quickly to the scene thanks to an eagle-eyed motorist who noticed smoke early in the life of the blaze and called 911.
“The quick reporting aided us in stopping the fire,” Germantown Fire Chief Mike Lawson said.
When firefighters arrived at the scene on county Route 8 smoke was coming out of the west end of the basement, followed shortly by flames, said officials. Lawson said there was a heavy fire load in that side of the basement and the room directly above.
The chief stated that because the home was “buttoned up” with the family away on vacation in Europe, the closed environment inside increased the intensity of both the flames and smoke.
The Livingston fire company, who also responded, used a large chain saw-like device called a vent saw to create a hole in the roof of the home to alleviate the amount of smoke inside.
Attack Team One worked on extinguishing the fire in the basement from the west end of the house while Attack Team Two broke in through the front door on the other side and pushed the fire back away from unburned parts of the house.
The Germantown Fire Department was also assisted by tanker trucks from Livingston and Clermont. State police were also on the scene.
With the family away until next week and no immediate family in the area, Lawson said a long-time property caretaker will be boarding up and watching over the damaged home until the owners return.
Lawson said this is the type of thing no one ever wants to come home from vacation to.
“Their house is unlivable,” Lawson said, adding, “there’s substantial damage.”
The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
To reach reporter Jamie Larson call 518-828-1616, ext. 2266, or e-mail jlarson@registerstar.com.
By Jamie Larson
GERMANTOWN — A Germantown home was badly damaged by fire Friday. Firefighters responded quickly to the scene thanks to an eagle-eyed motorist who noticed smoke early in the life of the blaze and called 911.
“The quick reporting aided us in stopping the fire,” Germantown Fire Chief Mike Lawson said.
When firefighters arrived at the scene on county Route 8 smoke was coming out of the west end of the basement, followed shortly by flames, said officials. Lawson said there was a heavy fire load in that side of the basement and the room directly above.
The chief stated that because the home was “buttoned up” with the family away on vacation in Europe, the closed environment inside increased the intensity of both the flames and smoke.
The Livingston fire company, who also responded, used a large chain saw-like device called a vent saw to create a hole in the roof of the home to alleviate the amount of smoke inside.
Attack Team One worked on extinguishing the fire in the basement from the west end of the house while Attack Team Two broke in through the front door on the other side and pushed the fire back away from unburned parts of the house.
The Germantown Fire Department was also assisted by tanker trucks from Livingston and Clermont. State police were also on the scene.
With the family away until next week and no immediate family in the area, Lawson said a long-time property caretaker will be boarding up and watching over the damaged home until the owners return.
Lawson said this is the type of thing no one ever wants to come home from vacation to.
“Their house is unlivable,” Lawson said, adding, “there’s substantial damage.”
The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
To reach reporter Jamie Larson call 518-828-1616, ext. 2266, or e-mail jlarson@registerstar.com.
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