Firefighters pulled four people from a smoke-filled home early Monday after a structure fire broke out in the Village of Watkins Glen.
Watkins Glen Fire Department crews were dispatched around 4:21 a.m. to a reported structure fire at 215 10th Street. Village police arrived first and confirmed heavy smoke coming from the building with multiple occupants still inside.
Police officers, sheriff’s deputies, and the first arriving fire officer removed all four occupants from the home. Crews moved them to the Middle School Apartments to shelter from the cold.
Fire spread quickly through the house as crews arrived. Flames broke through the rear corner of the structure, and firefighters encountered heavy fire on both the first and second floors. Conditions worsened as the building became unstable.
Commanders ordered all interior crews out and switched to a defensive attack. Shortly after, the entire rear portion of the structure collapsed.
Firefighters from Watkins Glen and Montour Falls used ladder trucks and large master streams to knock down the flames. Crews battled extreme cold and snow-covered conditions throughout the response.
CEMS Ambulance evaluated all four displaced residents at the scene. Fire officials reported no injuries.
The American Red Cross responded to assist the residents. Multiple fire departments and agencies from across Schuyler County provided mutual aid.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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