Video provided by Mark Lieb/Rockland Video Production
TOWN OF CHESTER – Fire late Tuesday afternoon destroyed six townhouse units in the Whispering Hills complex in the Town of Chester.
Chester Fire Chief Tom Marchiano said flames were shooting through the roof of one of the buildings when firefighters arrived on the scene.
He said the building was completely destroyed when the roof caved in.
Rosalee Carroll, her husband and granddaughter had just moved into their home six months ago. She was terrified by the fire.
“I feel like I’m in a bad dream. All kinds of things are going through my mind – where we’re going to live, what we’re going to do. I don’t know,” she said.
The chief said the fire apparently started in a garage of unit 1421 and spread to the units above. Investigators are looking into whether a car inside that garage sparked the blaze.
No one was injured, but the displaced residents were taken to the clubhouse and a local senior center with the Red Cross on hand to help the residents find temporary shelter.
Some 75 firefighters fought the blaze.
This is the second devastating fire in that complex in just over five years. In March 2019, fire destroyed another six-unit building across the street.
