Apartment fire leaves two children dead, man injured

Feb. 10--DAVENPORT -- Two children reported trapped in a burning building were declared dead later, and a man was hospitalized with burns after a fire on Dehning Road in the town early Friday, authorities said.

A boy, 1, and a girl, 3, died, the Delaware County Department of Emergency Services said.

Authorities withheld the victims' names Friday and said the cause of the blaze at the four-unit apartment building is under investigation.

State police at Oneonta confirmed that two children were declared dead at the scene. An adult was taken to Upstate Medical University Hospital in Syracuse for burns, troopers said.

Fifty to 60 firefighters from multiple fire departments responded to the call for the blaze in the East Meredith Fire District, which was reported at about 1:45 a.m., officials said.

"When you left East Meredith, you could see the glow in the sky," according to David Briggs, chief of the East Meredith Fire Department.

Briggs said upon arrival at the scene he saw a second-floor apartment fully involved, with flames coming out of windows, with the fire progressing through the ceiling and the roof.

Crews went up the outside staircase to that apartment to check for the children reported trapped, Briggs said, but firefighters couldn't proceed because the flames were too hot.

The two-story apartment building had two apartments on each floor, Briggs said, and other firefighters checked apartments in the building. All other occupants got out, including an older man whose whereabouts were unknown for a time, the chief said. Briggs estimated the apartment building had eight to 10 occupants.

"The whole building is a total loss," Briggs said. The apartment building owner, Al Baldanza, had insurance for the property, according to Briggs, who said the fire isn't considered suspicious.

Crews worked overnight in freezing conditions; Briggs said no firefighters were hurt. Temperatures dropped to minus-4 degrees, with the bitter cold freezing up equipment and hoses, according to East Meredith firefighter Steve MacClintock, a fire commissioner and a former chief.

"It was a tough fire to put out," MacClintock said. He said the structure, an old wooden building, was a "total loss."

Briggs said crews had tried an aggressive interior attack but flames and heavy smoke were too much and the firefighters began an hours-long, labor-intensive exterior attack.

The roof collapsed at about 2:20 a.m., Briggs said. Five tankers shuttled water from the pond at Hanford Mills Museum, about 3 miles away in East Meredith, Briggs said, and with vehicles parked on narrow Dehning Road, tankers had to back in.

"The guys did a tremendous job," Briggs said. "They dug in hard and did what they had to do."

Fire and law enforcement vehicles lined Dehning Road late Friday morning, and a state-owned drone hovered over the apartment building as crews worked at the scene.

According to the Delaware County Department of Emergency Services, Delaware 911 received a call for a structure fire in the East Meredith Fire District at 1:46 a.m. Friday. First arriving units confirmed a fully involved fire of a four-unit apartment building at 478 Dehning Road in the town of Davenport with entrapment of two small children in one of the upstairs apartments, according to a media release.

Fire and emergency medical services units that responded to the fire were from East Meredith, Davenport, Pindars Corners, Delhi, Bloomville, Franklin, Meridale, Oneonta and Cooperstown Medical Transport, officials said.

The investigation continues with multiple agencies, including local fire service officials, state police, Delaware County Sheriff's Office, Delaware County Department of Emergency Services, Delaware County Fire Investigation Team and the state Office of Fire Prevention and Control.

Volunteers from the Mohawk Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross provided immediate emergency aid to several people after the fire, according to a media release.

State fire investigators finished at the scene at about 3:30 p.m. Friday, which is about the time the East Meredith Fire Department was back in service, Briggs said. On Saturday, crews will continue working on thawing out and checking equipment and identifying damage to nozzles and other tools.

Others in the community and area assisted with the response and cleanup, Briggs said.

David Beisler arrived with an excavator but the property insurer requested that the building remains be left standing, Briggs said. Gerster's Triple E Towing and Repair of Davenport Center delivered fuel to supply fire trucks that were running low, the chief said.

The East Meredith Fire Department Auxiliary provided food and drink for crews, with help from the Delhi department, according to Briggs.

Briggs said the department will have a debriefing and he will check with crews about reactions to the fatalities or other stress.

Denise Richardson, staff writer, may be reached at (607) 441-7213 or at drichardson@thedailystar.com. Follow her on Twitter at @DS_DeniseR

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