Patterson Pyrotechnics

Raging inferno awaits firefighters in Patterson. Eric Gross It was a raging inferno!

Flames destroyed a section of the Patterson Village Condominium complex last Friday despite the efforts of 100 firefighters and EMS providers from 18 fire companies and emergency services corps in Putnam, Dutchess, Westchester, and Fairfield counties.

The blaze broke out around 11am when the Putnam 911 Dispatch Center received numerous calls from residents of the community reporting smoke coming from an upper floor unit in Building D.

Patterson FD personnel under the command of Chief Frank Smith and Assistant Chiefs Edward O’Connell and Matt Spzindor arrived minutes later and quickly sounded a general alarm before requesting mutual aid when flames and thick smoke engulfed the roof of the condominium unit.

Day time fires are always difficult to battle since Putnam’s firefighting force is composed solely of volunteers yet when calls were made for manpower and equipment from Putnam Lake, Lake Carmel, Carmel, Kent, Brewster, Pawling, New Fairfield, and East Fishkill, fire crews and equipment rushed to the scene.

Eric Gross Putnam Deputy Emergency Coordinator Cris Dellaripa called in two tower ladder trucks, seven engines and nine tanker trucks from the mutual aid companies. He also placed neighboring departments that included Mahopac, Mahopac Falls, Putnam Valley, Croton Falls, and Danbury to cover those jurisdictions at the fire scene while summoning ambulance corps from Carmel, Transcare Paramedic Service and the Pawling Paramedic Corps to the fire, since the heat and humidity began to take its toll as several firefighters became overcome by the elements.

Sheriff’s Department Chief Investigator A. Gerald Schramek commended the volunteer fire-fighting effort. Schramek responded to the inferno from Putnam Lake: “I saw smoke for miles and realized we had a barnburner on our hands. The men and women battling the fire did an outstanding job controlling the fire and preventing it from spreading to adjoining condo units.”

Roberto Emery resides in a condominium at the rear of Building D. His unit was damaged by smoke and water but was saved from destruction.

Emery was at work when a neighbor called to report his home on fire: “I raced to get here. When I saw the flames, I almost fainted. I am sorry for my neighbors who lost everything, but thank goodness, my apartment was saved.”

Chief O’Connell said the fire destroyed two units, while four others suffered major smoke and water damage.