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The incident occurred in Orange County at 11:20 p.m. on Monday, April 8, at 59 and 61 Carter St., in the city of Newburgh.
According to Mike Neppl, a spokesman for the Newburgh Fire Department, arriving units found the rear of 59 and 61 Carter Street fully involved with fire, which was spreading to the interior of the buildings.
Neppl said crews stretched handlines into the interior and began bringing the fire down and searching for hidden fire.
Mark Lieb of Rockland Video Productions said at least 45 firefighters from several departments were on the scene until 2 a.m. when the fire was out.
Of the 24 left homeless, 9-year-old Anthony Trujillo told Lieb he woke up to the sound of his cousins screaming fire from downstairs and then ran to wake up his parents, brother, and sister and helped them get out.
Crews remained on location until 7 a.m. to ensure the fire was extinguished, Neppl said.
One firefighter and one resident received minor injuries and were taken to Montefiore St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital in Newburgh for treatment, officials said.
The City of Newburgh Fire Department was assisted at the scene by:
- City of Newburgh Police Department
- Cronomer Valley Fire Department
- Stewart Air Guard Fire Department
- West Point Fire Department
- Castle Point VA Fire Department
- Coldenham Fire Department
- Cornwall-on-Hudson Fire Department
- Empress EMS.
This is the second major fire within a couple of weeks in the same area. Multiple apartment buildings were destroyed on Lutheran Street on Sunday, March 31, leaving 33 people homeless and injuring three.
Neppl added that the cause of the fire remains under investigation by the city of Newburgh Fire Investigation Team but is not considered suspicious in nature.
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