Malone apartment fire displaces 10, injures one

Nov. 21--MALONE -- A fire at 18 Huntington St. early Saturday displaced 10 residents of a three-story apartment house, injuring one.

Malone Fire Chief Paul Langdon said it is believed the fire originated in a second-floor apartment where Lawrence Roy resided.

"He did not come out of the fire on his own," Langdon said.

"The first round of firefighters knocked down the fire; we knew somebody else was in there."

After dousing the room where the fire was centered, firefighters found Roy on the floor of an adjacent room.

He was then transported by Northern Ambulance Service to Alice Hyde Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition Saturday. No description of his injuries was available.

'NATURAL CHIMNEY'

The Malone Callfiremen were dispatched out at 2:20 a.m.

The fire was not visible to Langdon from outside the 10-unit building. But gathered in front of the apartment house, residents told firefighters they saw flames on the second floor.

"At that time, we thought it was just probably a second-floor apartment (involved)."

Firefighters hoped they had contained the fire after putting it out in Roy's apartment, but further investigation revealed that the blaze had found its way through the floor and into the third floor through an old dumbwaiter or small elevator.

"It acted as a natural chimney," Langdon said. "We initially anticipated and attacked a room and contents fire.

"It turned into a compete attic-space structure fire."

'STARTED ON BLANKET'

Langdon said the entire attic space of the building is burned off, and 60 percent of the third floor was destroyed.

There is some visible damage on the second floor as well.

Though the majority of the structure remains standing, Langdon considers it a total loss because of water damage.

"We'll leave that up to the insurance companies and owner to figure out what to do."

Though fire investigators had yet to complete their report Saturday, it appeared the fire started on a blanket while Roy was smoking a cigarette, he said.

He may have tossed the blanket, causing the flames to spread.

Langdon believes the call came in from someone who lives in an adjacent apartment, and that audible alarms did alert residents about the fire.

The building, owned by Carol Perry, is insured, and the Red Cross was called in to assist all the residents.

75 FIREFIGHTERS

Langdon said multiple departments were dispatched even though the Malone Callfiremen initially had 22 firefighters at the apartment house.

The Bangor Fire Department responded automatically once the structure fire was confirmed.

The Westville, Constable, Burke, Chateaugay and Brushton fire departments were also at the site, mostly providing firefighters.

"Being in the village, we were able to use the hydrant system," Langdon said.

The Dickinson Fire Department stood by at the Malone fire station, and the Paul Smith's/Gabriels Volunteer Fire Department brought down about a dozen firefighters.

"We had upwards of 75 firefighters involved," Langdon said.

Additionally, Franklin County Fire Coordinator Ricky Provost was there with several deputies, along with fire investigators.

LADDER TRUCKS

Langdon said the biggest tools used were two ladder trucks supplied by the Malone and Hogansburg departments.

"Due to the size of the fire we required an additional ladder," Langdon said.

"It's the safest way to put people on the roof because they're tethered off to the tower."

Firefighters also utilized thermal imaging cameras to find additional hot spots.

Cascade systems provided by Malone and Fort Covington helped to fill multiple air bottles used by firefighters who ventured inside the structure.

Burke provided one as well just in case, Langdon said.

'TAKES EVERYONE'

The Malone Callfiremen were back in service around 11:55 a.m.

"It was a fantastic job," Langdon said. "I can't thank the Franklin County mutual aid system enough.

"It takes everyone to get together to fight a structure fire like this."

He added that neighbors from surrounding homes brought coffee and donuts to the firefighters.

"They were very appreciative, and we're very appreciative of them."

Email Cara Chapman:

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Twitter: @PPR_carachapman

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