ARLINGTON – A late-night fire at New Beginnings Alliance Church on Degarmo Road in the Town of Poughkeepsie put the Arlington firefighters to work while several other departments covered the Arlington district.
Around 11:30 Friday night, the Arlington Fire Department was dispatched to the church as a result of 911 calls reporting a fire in the rear of the church. Firefighters immediately encountered smoke at the rear of the structure, pulling additional firefighters and apparatus from all of the Arlington stations. City of Poughkeepsie firefighters also responded to the scene while New Hamburg, Roosevelt, and Pleasant Valley fire departments relocated manpower and equipment into the Arlington firehouses to provide coverage.
The fire was knocked down in approximately 45 minutes. During the blaze, an Arlington firefighter partially fell through the floor of the building. He was evacuated and transported to a local hospital for treatment by Mobile Life Support Services. The firefighter has since been treated and released.
While Arlington firefighters were battling the church fire, a second fire in their district was reported at Vassar College. Pleasant Valley firefighters responded from the Arlington headquarters and found a garbage can on fire on the second floor of the Noyes House, a student residence facility. The fire was contained to a garbage can in the building. After extinguishing the fire, Pleasant Valley firefighters returned to Arlington HQ until released.
Arlington Fire Chief Bill Steenbergh was out of town at the time of the fires but told Mid-Hudson News that the cause and origin of the church fire are being investigated by the Arlington Fire Investigation Unit and the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department. Anyone with information related to the fire is asked to call the police department at 845-485-3666.
