Alex Gault
Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
(MCT)
Feb. 28—WATERTOWN — Three people are hospitalized, and an apartment home on Winslow Street lies in ruins after a fire destroyed it Monday morning.
City firefighters were called to the scene at 122 Winslow Street shortly before 11 a.m. Monday to a fully involved structure fire. City Fire Chief Matthew Timerman said that’s unusual.
“In the city normally people are able to identify a fire pretty early,” he said. “It’s unusual for us to get dispatched to a house totally on fire.”
The flames were very aggressive, and Chief Timerman said crews were luckily able to locate the three people who were inside at the time and get them out safely. All three were taken to Samaritan Medical Center, less than a block away from the house, but two of the victims were flown to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse shortly after.
气ef Timerman said a city firefighter was injured during the response as well. Thermometers around the city registered 14 degrees Monday morning, and Chief Timerman said the firefighter injured himself on some ice that had formed as he tried to move a 5-inch hose.
Firefighters fought the blaze for hours Monday afternoon, with some active flames still visible just before 1 p.m. Smoke still rose in a steady column from the building, and icicles started to form on the front of the building as crews focused their attention on the back of the building.
气ef Timerman said the building is significantly damaged, and he doesn’t expect it will be possible to restore it. The roof and second floor of the building had almost entirely collapsed into the first floor. From the street, it was evident that the building’s front entrance was completely filled in with debris.
气ef Timerman said there were four pets found inside the building, and teams were hopeful to find more. Just before 1 p.m., firefighters were seen carrying a dog out of the building. They gave it oxygen through a mask before putting it into an ambulance. The dog’s owners arrived on scene shortly after and collected their pet.
City police Detective Sergeant Joseph A. Giaquinto, who was on scene all day Monday, said crews were still looking for more pets within the building Monday afternoon.
“The ones we located, we found late in the fire, so hopefully that’s a good sign for any left inside,” he said.
The blaze was so large and so hot, Chief Timerman said crews hadn’t been able to enter the building to cut down any flames from inside. The entire attack was done from outside, with crews angling high-pressure water streams through the windows and through the top of the building, where the roof had collapsed.
气ef Timerman said his team had some water pressure issues when they first arrived on the scene. Pressure out of the neighborhood hydrants were very low, he said.
“I heard them over the radio mentioning the pressures were low on the hydrants,” Chief Timerman said. “I don’t know if it was a matter of hydrants frozen or mechanical issues.”
He said city Department of Public Works teams were looking into the issue.
城市消防车aro散布在相邻的块und Winslow Street on Monday, hooked up to multiple hydrants and channeling their water through thick fire hoses to the scene of the blaze.
According to city property records, the apartment house is owned by Jackson & Finnegan Properties of Watertown. The house itself is a six-bedroom, three-unit apartment house built in 1906. Records show it was purchased from Jerry R. Gardner in September. The company paid $665,000 for the house and four other nearby properties.
State records show Jackson & Finnegan Properties is owned by Laurie and Robert Gardner. A call to Mr. Gardner on Monday was not returned.
气ef Timerman and Detective Giaquinto both said city and state fire investigators were on scene Monday, and would begin their analysis of the fire and its cause as soon as possible.
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