Smoke from eaves alerts neighbor to fire

Dec. 22--PLATTSBURGH -- An attic fire sent firefighters to 25 St. John's St. on Thursday night.

Plattsburgh City Fire Department and South Plattsburgh Volunteer Fire Department both responded to the 7:12 p.m. call.

City Fire Chief Scott Lawliss said the two-story property was an uninhabited rental owned by Chad Rivers.

It was not occupied at the time of the call, he said.

"The next door neighbor called it in," he added.

Initial crews found light smoke coming from the home's eaves.

"They went inside and found that the fire was in the (second-story) attic," Lawliss said.

"They attacked the fire, put it out and looked for extension."

The city's police and fire departments are investigating the cause of fire.

Rivers has insurance on the property, and the damage is initially estimated at about $25,000, Lawliss said.

"It was pretty straightforward," the chief said. "Crews on the scene did an outstanding job."

St. John's Street runs between Route 22 and Waterhouse Street in the city.

CHAMPLAIN DRIVE

South Plattsburgh Fire also responded to a garage fire in the Cliff Haven neighborhood earlier Thursday afternoon.

South Plattsburgh, with automatic mutual aid from City Fire and Peru Fire departments, responded to a call for a fire at 224 Champlain Drive at 4:32 p.m.

The fire was quickly extinguished and flames were contained to the garage, South Plattsburgh Assistant Fire Chief Eric Day said.

However, some smoke did spread through the home and the residents chose not to spend the night there, Day said.

He said he had heard that the residents had been in touch Friday with a cleaning service.

The fire is believed to have been gasoline that accidentally ignited while a resident was working on a riding lawnmower in the garage.

Plattsburgh District 3 and Cumberland Head Fire departments were put on standby at the South Plattsburgh fire stations.

All departments were back in service at 6:10 p.m.

Email McKenzie Delisle:

[email protected]

Twitter: @McKenzieDelisle

___

(c)2018 the Press-Republican (Plattsburgh, N.Y.)

Visit the Press-Republican (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) at pressrepublican.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.