Kingston and Mutual Aid Contain Residential Fire; Off-Duty Staff Recall Covers In-City Calls

Kingston, NY - Firefighters launched an aggressive search and suppression operation Friday evening after smoke began pouring from the second floor of a Schryver Court home amid reports that an occupant was trapped inside.

At 7:36 p.m. on September 11, Ulster County 911 received an emergency call reporting smoke venting from a second-story window at 15 Schryver Court. Responding within two minutes of the initial alarm, Kingston Fire Department units arrived on scene by 7:40 p.m. to encounter heavy smoke showing from the upper floor and an anxious family member warning that an occupant remained unaccounted for inside the burning structure.

Firefighters familiar with the resident pushed through zero-visibility conditions directly into the second-floor bedroom to initiate an immediate primary search. Finding the room clear, secondary teams fanned out across the rest of the dwelling. As crews combed the residence, 911 dispatchers maintained contact with callers and confirmed that the occupant was safely out of the home and located at a neighbor’s house.

Crews deployed interior attack lines and successfully halted the advance of the flames, containing the fire entirely to the bedroom of origin. Overhaul and ventilation operations continued until units cleared the scene at 9:37 p.m.

Fire investigators determined that improperly discarded smoking materials contributed to the ignition of the blaze.

Kingston crews were assisted on the fireground by mutual aid personnel from Ulster Hose Co. 5, the Port Ewen Fire Department, the Esopus Fire Department, and Esopus Ambulance. No injuries were reported.