A dozen families are displaced, some permanently, as part of the
building had to be demolished
\ELLENVILLE – Twelve families were left homeless early Friday when
fire raced through Emerald Pond Estates D Building on Route 209 in Ellenville.
No occupants were injured as two village police officers kicked in doors
and woke up residents when they saw the 2:20 a.m. fire lighting up the
nighttime sky.
Both officers suffered smoke inhalation and a leg injury and were transported by Ellenville Rescue Squad to Ellenville Regional Hospital where they were treated and later released.
Police Chief Phillip Mattracion praised the “heroic actions” of Sgt. Robert Morse and Officer Ulysses Young who helped evacuate the residents safely “without hesitation, and without fear for their own lives, and with great personal risk of death or serious physical injury to themselves.” He said if not for their quick response, “there certainly would have been numerous lives lost today.”
Apartment residents, many families with children, were brought to Village Hall and a temporary shelter was established by village staff. Food and beverages were supplied to the families by the Ellenville Central School District.
Mayor Jeffrey Kaplan spent much of his day with the families at Village Hall.
“In terms of injury or loss of life it was a great statement for the reaction time of our local police department, who were there within minutes of notification who were able to get people out of their apartments by going door to door and knocking on every door,” Kaplan said.
It took 11 fire departments five hours to battle the blaze and declare it out.
Part of the building had to be razed because of the amount of fire damage.
Mattracion said the policemen not only helped safely evacuate all of the residents, but when they were all safely out of the building, the officers ran back in to rescue one family’s dog.
