Cedar Street home damaged in blaze
KINGSTON, N.Y. » An improperly wired electric space heater sparked a fire Saturday evening that damaged a home at 131 Cedar St. and left a woman who lives there hospitalized with smoke inhalation, according to Kingston Fire Department Deputy Chief Wayne Platte Jr.
Platte said firefighters got the call for a fire at the single-family home at 8:23 p.m. He added that, when they arrived, they found smoke pouring from the rear of the home.
Firefighters located a fire in a laundry area, adjacent to the kitchen at the rear of the home and a second alarm was sent out at 8:28 p.m.
City police were already on the scene and reported that there was no one inside the home, according to Platte.
While a large amount of combustible material was stored in the home, firefighters were able to contain the fire to the laundry area, Platte said.
There was some fire and water damage to the laundry area and smoke damage throughout, Platte said.
The woman, who lives alone at the home, was taken to Health Alliance Hospital Broadway Campus for treatment of smoke inhalation as a precaution, Platte said.
One firefighter strained his left knee as he was going down an interior staircase during an additional search of the upstairs rooms, but he was not hospitalized, Platte added.
While the blaze was knocked down quickly, firefighters remained on the scene on until just after 10 p.m. to ventilate a large amount of smoke and conduct overhaul operations to ensure the flames had not spread to any other walls, Platte said.
An investigation determined the fire was sparked by an improperly wired electric space heater. Platte said
“We’re not sure if the space heater was in operation, but the wiring was improper,” he said.
The home remains inhabitable, but Central Hudson cut power to it until an electrician can go in and check all of the wiring to be sure it wasn’t compromised, Platte said.