‘It spread so fast’
Neighbors recall screams, chaos at scene of fatal house fire
The two-story home at 18-20 Russell St. in the village was fully engulfed in flames and the blaze had started to spread to the roof of a neighboring residence before firefighters were even able to get to the scene, neighbors said Sunday.
One person was killed and 10 others were injured in the fire, which was reported at 2:19 a.m. Saturday. The identity of the person who died in the fire has not been released. Fire and police of-
ficials could not be reached Sunday to provide an update or answer questions about the blaze, including what may have caused it.
The Saugerties Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary had also posted on Facebook seeking donations to help the people affected by the fire. The posting sought monetary and clothing donations for a family, noting the clothing could be dropped off at Mirabella’s restaurant at 123 Partition St. Monetary donations were being accepted at Price Chopper in the village.
When the fire started, Stacey Estrella said she had been sleeping on her sofa when she was awoken by the sound of screaming, which she described as “really agonizing screams.” She said she looked out the window of her home at 26 Russell St. and could only see bright yellow. Estrella said her home had burned down when she was six, so she knew what was happening down the street.
Estrella said she called
911 and moved her car down the street. She said when she went outside she saw people standing in front of the burning house. One woman was screaming and it was clear someone was still inside the structure, Estrella said.
“It spread so fast,” Estrella said of the fire. She said the home at 18-20 Russell St. was fully engulfed in flames, which began to extend to the roof of the residence next door -- the only home between hers and the fire. That was before firefighters were able to get to the scene at 2:26 a.m., Estrella said. She said she worried the fire would spread to her house, so she got some of her possessions out and began trying to wet down her roof with a garden hose.
Estrella said, though, firefighters and emergency responders worked hard to extinguish the fire. She said firefighters battled the blaze for at least two and a half hours and the entire street was filled with emergency responders.
“They were fighting it on all three sides,” Estrella said. She said firefighters attacked the blaze from the front and rear of the structure, and cut a hole in the side of the residence at 22 Russell St. to extend hoses upstairs to get at the blaze.
The hole was cut in the residence where the fire had begun to extend to the roof, Estrella said. She said that home contains two apartments where three people lived.
That home did not appear to be inhabited Sunday, and the residence at 1820 Russell St. was boarded up with plywood. Debris littered the ground outside, including discarded blue medical gloves.
Estrella said she knew one of the families who lived in the first floor of the burned house, but she declined to provide their names. She said the family included a husband and wife, a son and two daughters. Estrella said the son suffered burns and was transferred to Westchester Medical Center after initially being taken to Albany Medical Center. She said the mother suffered smoke inhalation and also ended up at Westchester Medical Center.
The father was badly burned and immediately taken to Westchester, Estrella said.
“The father actually went inside to save his son,” she
said. Estrella said the two younger girls were safe and staying with family locally.
Bob Gregory, who lives across the street at 15 Russell St., said emergency responders had set up a triage area in a parking lot of a nearby salon on Partition Street. As residents came out of the burning house, he said, they were moved to that location.
Gregory said he was one of the first, if not the first, to call 911 when the fire started. He said he and his two teenage children had just been settling in for the night when one of his dogs began barking and “losing her mind,” which he said was unusual for her. Gregory said he looked out the window of his daughter’s bedroom and saw the fire across the street.
“It filled her entire window,” Gregory said. He said as people came out of the residence there was a “lot of chaos and screaming” going on.
Gregory also said the house was fully engulfed before firefighters arrived. He said he stayed inside with his children and dogs because his daughter was afraid the fire would spread across the street to their residence.
“I could feel the heat inside my house,” Gregory said.
Gregory said Russell Street was blocked until 3 p.m. Saturday. He said investigators had to stabilize the burned home before they could go inside.
Following the fire, the Red Cross said it provided financial assistance for necessities such as shelter, food and clothing to six adults and a 9-year-old child.
On Saturday, Deputy Fire Coordinator Chris Worrad of the Ulster County Emergency Management Division of Fire Services had said about 100 firefighters from numerous departments, including those on stand-by, dealt with the blaze.
The 10 people who were hurt suffered various minor injuries and were taken to hospitals including HealthAlliance Hospital on Broadway in Kingston, Albany Medical Center and Westchester County Medical Center. The injured, who also were not immediately identified, were able to get out of the building before firefighters arrived at the three-alarm blaze.