UPDATE: Fire in Port Henry destroys two-story home

PORT HENRY| A home at 19 Rice Lane here was destroyed by fire as crews from Port Henry Volunteer, Moriah Volunteer, Mineville-Witherbee Volunteer, Ticonderoga Volunteer, Crown Point Volunteer, and Westport Volunteer fire departments fought to get it under control. The two-story wood frame house is in a lakefront neighborhood where homes are built close together. Essex County Emergency Operations Center dispatch said the call for a structure fire came in at 11:10 a.m. Port Henry Fire Chief Jim Hughes said the mutual aid system in Essex County was outstanding in effecting a strong response. Teams of firefighters from six departments worked together to protect neighboring houses as they knocked back a blistering fire that tore through the house at 19 Rice Lane. The building was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived. And a family that resided there with two very small children had safely evacuated. Chief Hughes was en route to Plattsburgh when the call came in and Port Henry Second Assistant Chief Michael J. Hughes, Jr. was scene commander. "Port Henry was able to hook to a hydrant off of Main Street," Chief Hughes said. "We know that is the best way to capture flow for that side street and the best means to get sufficient water to houses in that area. We did a forward lay into the scene. Moriah was ahead of us on Rice Lane and we were able to feed into their truck. We used a four-inch supply line to feed the trucks. We do have a tremendous hydrant system in the former village." "We were able to initially set up with a forward lay into the scene, and realizing the magnitude of the situation, the focus was to protect exposures," the chief said. Exposures were the nearby houses, which are built close together on side streets along the southern hill in Port Henry. Mutual aid calls were made within minutes, given the magnitude of the fire, Hughes said. "Initially, we had Moriah and Mineville-Witherbee for automatic mutual aid. Incident commander Michael Hughes Jr. chose to activate Crown Point, realizing that during the day there may be a lot of our people at work." A procedure known as "First Call" to Sylvamo paper mill, formerly called International Paper, was used, he said, allowing employees who are first responders to be released from work. TWO ADDITIONAL CALLS Then two additional fire response calls were dispatched. "The second and third calls were for smoke alarms. One came in at 11:34 a.m. to respond to an alarm at 4318 Main Street, the Lee House, because of the pressure drop in the hydrant system. Mahoney Alarm company, which monitors the fire protection system, called dispatch and said there was no cause for alarm. Then at 11:35 a.m., while still fighting the Rice Lane fire, we had a call to Glens Falls National Bank on Main Street for a gas/propane odor, which can sometimes happen if there has been a delivery." Crown Point Fire Department was directed to the Glens Falls National Bank, initially. "And we also called Westport Fire to respond with an engine and crew to the Lee House," Hughes said. "We initially called Ticonderoga for stand-by in Crown Point. The way mutual aid is set up, those who are in charge put things in motion for assistance. You can always stand people down. But Ticonderoga was then requested to come to the Rice Lane scene with their aerial truck. The building was so far gone, we could not send people inside," the chief said. "We took a defensive posture, protecting houses nearby." Firefighters were thankful there was no north wind today, he said on Tuesday night. "Once we got Ti's aerial truck set up, Moriah fed the aerial, which got above the fire, and drowned it." Once the fire was knocked down, fire companies maintained scene preservation for fire investigators. Preliminary reports suggest the fire started on the second floor in the southwest corner, Hughes said. The fire investigation is ongoing. "Unfortunately the house was lost," Hughes said. "The up-side is there was no death and no injuries." Port Henry firefighters returned to their station at 4:25 p.m. "We have to give credit to the mutual aid system. It came through for us again," Hughes said. About 40 firefighters helped douse the blaze, which sent great billows of smoke out over Lake Champlain. Heat from the intense blaze did scorch the siding of one home next door. But the fire did not spread. Essex County Real Property records show the single-family residence at 19 Rice Lane is owned by Dustin J. Thompson. Community in Port Henry is helping to find items needed by the family displaced by the blaze, Josh McCray and Kim LaRock, and their very small boys who need clothes sizes 2T and nine months. Main Street in Port Henry remained open although fire trucks and emergency response vehicles lined the roadway. A call for possible rekindle at 19 Rice Lane was dispatched Tuesday night at about 8:20 p.m. with Port Henry and Moriah fire crews responding.

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UPDATE: Fire in Port Henry destroys two-story home

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