Fire destroys two-family home; dog dies

Four adults were left homeless and a pet dog died when a two-family home on Hoppenstedt Road was destroyed by a four-alarm fire, a Plattekill Fire Department official said Friday.

A second dog survived the Thursday blaze.

Plattekill Assistant Fire Chief Christopher Mancuso said the residents of the two apartments at 35 Hoppenstedt Road were awakened and became aware of the fire when a propane tank attached to a barbecue grill exploded on the back porch of one of the units. The fire started outdoors and is considered accidental, Mancuso said.

He said the exact cause had not yet been determined.

The fire was reported at 12:52 a.m. Thursday, and all four residents had escaped from the apartments before firefighters arrived, Mancuso said. He said one resident was taken to the Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie for smoke inhalation and minor burns.

Both units had working smoke alarms, Mancuso said.

He said he first floor of one apartment collapsed into the basement of that unit and that the building was deemed “a complete loss.”

Mancuso said firefighters from 14 companies — Plattekill, Cronomer Valley, Coldenham, Modena, Wallkill, Orange Lake, Marlboro, Clintondale, New Paltz, Highland, Walker Valley, Walden, the city of Newburgh and the Air National Guard unit at the Stewart base in New Windsor — needed about three hours to bring the blaze under control.

The Plattekill department responded with 30 firefighters, and a total of 60 were on the scene, according to a press release about the blaze.

Firefighters cleared the scene at 6:54 a.m., Mancuso said.

The Mid-Hudson Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross was providing shelter to both families, Mancuso said.

A Red Cross press release said the organization was providing assistance to three adults and five children. It was not immediately clear Friday afternoon why the Red Cross’ number of people affected differed from the fire department’s.