On May 6, 2025, at 5:48 PM, multiple calls came into the emergency communication center in Columbia County for a reported structure fire at 2532 County Route 9H in the village of Kinderhook next to Cole’s collision center. Two good Samaritans Robert Skabowski and RJ Skabowski that were driving by quickly stopped their vehicle and immediately began to make sure that nobody was inside of the building. As they were not able to see inside of the structure due to the heavy smoke condition. The two good Samaritans kicked in the front door and discovered a dog inside and pulled the dog to safety. The dog was not injured. The Kinderhook Fire Department along with the Kinderhook Task Force was dispatched to the scene. 

As the first Chief called in route and made his way to the scene a massive column of black smoke was visible for miles. The first arriving Chief had a single-story occupancy structure with a commercial garage in the rear of the building and side of the building well involved with heavy fire pushing from the structure. The chief also had a power line down in front of the structure and notified all incoming units of the power line down in front of the structure and requested the power company to the scene. Command requested additional resources from the Ghent Fire Department, Tri-Village Fire Department, South Schodack Fire Department, Stuyvesant Fire Department, and Stuyvesant Falls Fire Department to the scene with tankers and manpower. Firefighters quickly deployed multiple hand lines on scene along with additional 2 1/2-inch hand lines and began to attempt to knock down the heavy fire condition. As firefighters were working heavy Fire quickly pushed through the center of the garage next to the main structure sending heavy fire into the air, and as firefighters continued to work the heavy smoke pushing from the structure next to the garage quickly erupted in heavy fire and began to push out in the front of the structure. 

Firefighters set up a tanker fill site next to the parking lot for Coles Collision and command requested fire police to shutdown 9H near the fire as tankers and fire apparatus were taking up a significant portion of the roadway in front of the structure. Valatie’s ladder truck took up a defensive position in the parking lot next to the main fire building and firefighters deployed a supply line through the parking lot. As firefighters connected to a nearby tanker and began to supply the ladder company with water, a firefighter went to work utilizing the master stream to knock down a significant portion of the heavy fire from the garage. As firefighters were working on the other side of the structure, they deployed multiple additional hand lines and began to make an aggressive push into the side of the main fire building in the front of the structure. As they were doing so the heavy fire condition in the front of the structure quickly darken down, but thick heavy black smoke began to chug from the structure and the roof area. Firefighters on the delta side of the structure had numerous aerosol cans and other flammable objects exploding in one portion of the structure. As firefighters continued to work a portion of the structure collapsed and a portion of the structure collapsed on top of the connex boxes making it difficult for firefighters to reach the burning materials. 

Firefighters utilized a thermal imaging camera to check out the content inside of the connex boxes that were on fire and discovered numerous acetylene and oxygen tanks inside of them and began to utilize hand lines to quickly cool them down. Firefighters on the rear side of the structure cooled down a 500-gallon propane tank for a short period of time. As firefighters in the rear of the main structure continue to attempt to make progress the fire inside the main fire building quickly continued to take off due to the contents inside of the building. The power company secured the down power lines and the power source near the structure fire and made it safe so firefighters could work in front of the structure. Firefighters deployed an additional master stream to the front of the structure and began to flow water inside of the main fire building. 

For an extended period of time firefighters utilized defensive tactics to bring the incident under control. Command on scene utilized an excavator to pull apart the structure to get at the deep-seated fire and firefighters knocked down all of the heavy fire condition remaining and began to overhaul the structures and the contents inside of it. No injuries of any firefighters were reported. Firefighters remained on scene for an extended period of time until the late evening hours overhauling the structure. The cause of the fire remains under investigation at this time.