Ashes in bucket on porch blamed for house fire

Damage from the blaze on Band Camp Road in Centerville was contained to the exterior of the structure.

CENTERVILLE, N.Y. » A cedar shake-shingled home on Band Camp Road in this Saugerties hamlet caught fire after the homeowner left ashes from a fireplace in an open metal bucket on a wooden front porch, a fire chief said Tuesday.

Centerville/Cedar Grove Fire Chief James Mullen said embers probably were blown from the bucket and ignited the porch.

“Another 30 seconds and it would have been gone,” Mullen said of the single-family home. “[The homeowner] got lucky for sure.”

Firefighters were called to 329 Band Camp Road at 2:43 p.m. Monday. Before they arrived, the homeowner called 911 to say he thought he had brought the fire under control by using two fire extinguishers and pots of water, Mullen said. But firefighters discovered that the blaze had spread to the home’s siding and deck.

Mullen said firefighters “saved most of the house” and kept all damage to the exterior. The home’s cedar siding was 25 or 30 years old and extremely dry and flammable, he said.

The chief said they had the blaze under control within 20 minutes and that firefighters remained at the scene for about an hour and 15 minutes.

Mullen said that because of the single-digit temperatures Monday, firefighters initially used fire extinguishers with water rather than risk having their hoses freeze. He said Diaz Ambulance was called to the scene as a precaution because of the low temperatures but that there were no injuries.