CHATHAM, NY — On November 21, 2025, at approximately 3:17 p.m., the Columbia County Emergency Communications Center received multiple calls reporting a working structure fire in the Tri-Village Fire District at 3869 Route 66.

The Tri-Village Task Force, consisting of the Chatham Fire Department, East Chatham Fire Department, Niverville Fire Department, North Chatham Fire Department, and the Stuyvesant Fire Department, along with its rapid intervention team, was dispatched to the scene. The column of smoke from the house fire was visible from Interstate 90 at Everett Road in the City of Albany under clear afternoon skies.

The first-arriving chief on scene notified the dispatcher of heavy fire in the rear of the structure, extending up the back of the building and into the home. Command immediately requested additional manpower and resources. Firefighters deployed a 1¾-inch handline to the front of the structure and a 2½-inch handline to the rear. Crews made an aggressive interior attack, knocking down a significant portion of the fire on the first floor. Firefighters operating in the rear utilized a 2½-inch handline to knock down heavy fire conditions extending up the back of the house.

As operations continued, command conducted a 360-degree size-up and observed heavy fire pushing from the Delta side of the building, along with heavy smoke coming from the roof and second-floor windows.

Multiple tankers arrived on scene and established a water supply at the end of the driveway. Command requested a second alarm, bringing additional resources from the Valatie Fire Department, Canaan Fire Department, Lebanon Valley Fire Department, Spencertown Fire Department, and Red Rock Fire Department. Firefighters continued operating defensively from the rear of the structure due to heavy fire traveling throughout the attic. Command confirmed that all occupants were accounted for and that no one remained inside the structure.

Firefighters raised a ladder on the front side of the structure and accessed the roof, where crews entered the second floor with a 1¾-inch handline and made an aggressive push to knock down heavy fire conditions in the attic.

Firefighters on the first floor continued suppression efforts, pulling ceilings and portions of the walls, which revealed additional heavy fire. Due to the extensive operations, command requested additional manpower from the Ghent Fire Department, Mellenville Fire Department, and Kinderhook Fire Department.

Crews operating on the roof performed vertical ventilation to access the attic fire, while firefighters in the rear continued to utilize master streams to knock down a large portion of the fire. Firefighters in the rear operated with caution after a large portion of the deck burned through. Crews continued extinguishing hotspots and pulling apart the rear of the building.

Firefighters remained on scene into the late evening hours. Due to the heavy fire conditions and extensive fire spread, it took several hours to bring the incident fully under control. All units cleared the scene later that evening. No injuries were reported, and all residents and animals were able to exit the home safely. The cause of the fire remains under investigation but does not appear to be suspicious in nature.