Fire investigators at scene of intense Cornwall-on-Hudson blaze
Fire reduced home to steel beams more than a year after another fire at the property.
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A massive fire reduced a Cornwall-on-Hudson home to little more than its steel structural beams Tuesday afternoon.
Cornwall-on-Hudson Fire Chief Michael Trainor Sr. says firefighters were called to 10 Stable Way at about 4:30 p.m. Viewer video shows intense flames and heavy smoke pouring from the house.
Trainor says the home was under construction following another fire there more than a year ago. Contractors had been working at the property Tuesday but left for the day at about 3:30 p.m. — about an hour before the fire started.
No one was living in the house at the time, and no one was hurt.
Trainor says the fire was already well involved when crews arrived. He says the home’s location on a hillside created a “chimney effect” that helped the fire grow.
There are no fire hydrants in that area of the village, according to Trainor. A tanker task force was called in, bringing eight additional water tankers, along with other mutual aid departments.
The fire also sparked brush fires along the hillside, forcing crews to work to keep the flames from spreading.
Orange County fire investigators and members of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office Arson and Explosives Task Force were at the property Wednesday.
Trainor says the scene is being treated as a crime scene while authorities determine the cause, but stressed that does not mean the fire is considered suspicious.
“At this point in time, there’s no reason to believe it was suspicious or otherwise,” Trainor said.
