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Article written by Stottville Firefighter Michael McCagg
26 left homeless by fire in Stottville A stubborn
fire that erupted in a four-unit apartment complex in the Columbia County hamlet of Stottville
left 26 people homeless and the complex devastated.
Stottville firefighters
were dispatched at 6:40 p.m. on Sunday
to a report of sparks from an electrical box in a residence. Assistant Chief Ed Hamm arrived on the scene a minute later time
and reported a working structure fire
with flames venting through a window. He requested tankers from Stockport, West Ghent and Greenport fire companies.
An initial interior attack was greeted by a flash over and Chief Michael
Briscoe requested additional interior firefighters from Stockport, Greenport, West
Ghent and Claverack fire companies and a FAST team from Greenport.
Eight handlines were
stretched from Stottville Engine 50-1 and Stockport Engine 49-1 through the front and rear of the Atlantic Avenue complex
and Stottville Ladder 50 was utilized to attack a heavy fire condition in the third story/attic of the building, most of which
was converted to bedrooms by residents.
Stottville firefighters were dispatched at 6:40 p.m. on Sunday to a report of sparks from an electrical box in a residence.
Assistant Chief Ed Hamm arrived on the scene a minute later time and reported a working structure fire with flames venting through a window. He requested tankers
from Stockport, West Ghent and Greenport fire companies.
An initial interior attack was
greeted by a flash over and Chief Michael Briscoe requested additional interior firefighters
from Stockport, Greenport, West Ghent and Claverack fire companies and a FAST team from Greenport.
Eight handlines were stretched from Stottville Engine 50-1 and Stockport Engine 49-1 through the
front and rear of the Atlantic Avenue complex and Stottville Ladder 50 was utilized to attack a heavy fire condition in the
third story/attic of the building, most of which was converted to bedrooms by residents.
Water was drafted from the Claverack Creek and utilizing 5-inch diameter hose fed to units on the scene. Tankers
also shuttled water to the scene from engines set up at two hydrants, but those operations were made difficult by water main
breaks in the hamlet.
Two hours into the fire, Chief Briscoe sounded an
"all vacate" alert and interior firefighters were directed to vacate as a result of a partial roof collapse over
units two and three. Crews were later able to re-enter the structure and douse the stubborn blaze.
The age of the structure - which was over 100 years old - its balloon construction and partitions in the attic,
as well as plywood flooring in the attic, made the fire difficult and dangerous to squelch. Officials also believe the fire
had burned for some time before being noticed by residents in a neighboring structure.
The
Columbia County Cause and Origin Team is investigating the blaze, which is preliminarily believed
to be electrical in origin. Approximately 70 firefighters from the five companies were on the scene, as were crews from Greenport
Rescue Squad, Stockport Police and
National Grid.
Additionally, Stuyvesant, Churchtown, Germantown
, Hudson and Livingston provided mutual aid standby coverage.
All companies were clear
by 1 a.m. with the exception of one crew from Stottville who secured the scene until investigators returned Monday morning The Red Cross is
assisting those left homeless by the blaze. Stottville firefighters returned
with an engine at 3:30 a.m. on Monday
and doused a rekindle before returning again later in the day with fire investigators.
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