Bitterly cold weather made for a difficult fight when more than 50 firefighters from South Spring Valley, Hillcrest, Monsey, Orangeburg, Pearl River, Spring Valley, and Tallman were dispatched to a house fire on Manis Avenue in Chestnut Ridge around 8 a.m. What was originally called in as a refrigerator fire spread throughout the structure; the first crew arrived to find flames coming from the roof of the 2,909-square-foot ranch, with smoke visible from the nearby Garden State Parkway Extension.
Firefighters also had to contend with the extreme cold, which froze hoses and a hydrant, requiring crews to rotate out periodically. South Spring Valley Fire Chief Vincent Curcio noted that the cold cuts effective working time roughly in half. The home’s owner got out safely, and there were no injuries. Firefighters remained on scene until noon; the fire heavily damaged the home, and the Rockland County Sheriff’s BCI unit investigated the cause.