SNOW FIRE: New City home catches fire during Blizzard of 2016

BY BILL DEMAREST

NEW CITY – As snow pummeled the county Saturday morning, volunteer firefighters from New City, Congers and Hillcrest and West Nyack were called on to handle a totally different kind of emergency: a blaze at a house on Old Hempstead Road in New City.

The fire was reported just before 9 a.m. at 4 Old Hempstead Road. One person was taken to Nyack Hospital for treatment of minor burns after the fire, which firefighters believe may have been started by an unattended candle.

Firefighters said the fire in the basement level of the home was discovered when smoke detectors sounded an alarm. When volunteer firefighters of the New City Fire Department arrived they found heavy smoke and flames coming from the rear of the building.

Firefighter were able to contain the fire quickly and put it out. The majority of damage from the fire was kept to the basement room where it is believed to have started, but there was also damage to the second floor and attic and the exterior of the home from flames that shot out several windows.

Originally published by Nyack Free Press