Fire at scrap yard sends firefighter to hospital

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POUGHKEEPSIE – A fire at Baroni Scrap Metal on Van Kleek Road in the city Saturday afternoon put all of the city’s on-duty firefighters to work battle a fire that proved difficult to reach.

Shortly after 12:00 pm, the firefighters were dispatched to the scrap yard for reports of machinery on fire.  The fire was on the far corner of the building, surrounded by mountains of scrap metal.  The closest hydrant was hundreds of feet away, near Smith Street, and the hydrant provides less than 500 gallons per minute, causing a shortage of water.

A ladder truck was used to reach up over the building to get water on the fire while a yard worker used a piece of heavy equipment to move some of the scrap out of the way for accessibility.

Fire Chief Mark Johnson said “A hydraulic line in the car compactor spilled hot oil onto the engine that runs the machine, causing tires and other debris to catch fire.”

City firefighters were at the scene for approximately three hours battling the blaze in the ninety-degree weather.  While the firefighters were at the scene, no other departments were called in to provide coverage for the city.

A firefighter from the Hooker Avenue station, Engine 3, was taken to Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital for treatment of heat exhaustion and a shoulder injury.  The firefighter was treated and subsequently released.

Firefighters expected to be at the scene of the blaze for quite some time due to the lack of water and location of the fire.




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