Major weekend fires under investigation

Two separate investigations are underway after a pair of major fires destroyed buildings in Columbia County this weekend.

On Friday night at 10:45 p.m. the bus depot of Cramden Coach LLC and eight attached apartments were destroyed in Livingston at 1637 County Route 31.

Livingston Fire Chief Paul Jahns said that the fire is under investigation, but “looks accidental.”

“The case is still under investigation,” state police Senior Investigator Eric Barnes said. “It is still in the very early stages.”

The fire is believed to have started in the maintenance section of the garage, spreading quickly to the attached apartments.

“By the time we were called, the bus garage was fully engulfed and the flames were coming out of the roof,” Jahns said.

He confirmed that first responders were called to the scene by the building’s owner, Ike Amrod, who was sleeping in his apartment adjacent to the garage when he was awakened by the smell of smoke.

Both the commercial building and the attached apartments are owned by Amrod.

Fifteen fire departments from across Columbia County responded to the fire, working through the night in freezing temperatures. The icy conditions created problems for first responders. “We were on the scene at 10:54 p.m. and we pumped water all the way to 1:30 p.m. the following afternoon. We had pumps freeze up, Air-Paks freeze up, SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) frozen,” said Jahns.

It’s likely the fire could have been discovered earlier if the building had working fire detectors, Jahns said.

“People won’t spend the money for a lousy smoke detector,” he said.

One resident of the apartments was taken to Columbia Memorial Health and treated for smoke inhalation, Jahns said.

Jahns said the firefighters, still exhausted from the night’s events, were back in the station Sunday morning to clean their equipment.

About 36 hours later, area firefighters were called to another fire less than 20 miles away in Hillsdale at 2:15 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

That’s when a fire ripped through a near-vacant strip mall, destroying Hillsdale Healthcare, damaging Coldwell Banker Prime Properties and threatening to engulf Four Brothers Pizza Inn.

Four Brothers was the only business in the commercial plaza that was open when the fire broke out.

The first calls came in to Columbia County 911 with reports of smoke coming from the roof of Coldwell Banker, 2828 Route 23.

Four Brothers server Mary Alesi was at the cash register when she smelled smoke.

Then someone ran into the building, yelling, “There’s a fire!” Alesi alerted manager Julie Dyomina, who called 911.

“I was concerned for the propane tanks on the side of the building,” Alesi said. Luckily, she said, the wind blew the smoke and flames toward Route 23, away from the tanks.

Hillsdale Town Supervisor Peter Cipkowski was out of town when the fire broke out, but was updated by Columbia County Sheriff David Bartlett. Investigators told Cipkowski that the fire is not suspicious, but remains under investigation.

“Thanks to the great work of the fire department, they were able to save the Coldwell Building. There was a concrete wall structure that prevented the spread of the fire,” Cipkowski said.

Cipkowski confirmed that he had been in touch with Hillsdale Healthcare.

“They lost lots of files, lots of records. It’s a huge tragedy for that office,” he said.

Four Brothers staff members provided drinking water to firefighters as they battled the flames. By 8 p.m., they began making pizzas and the restaurant filled with 110 hungry first responders. Dyomina said they were very appreciative of the pizza.

“We want to thank all the firefighters,” Dyomina said. “The fire didn’t get to us.”

Paul Stefanopoulos, the son of Four Brothers’ owner, confirmed that the county Health Department gave Four Brothers permission to reopen around 10 a.m. Monday. By Monday afternoon, the restaurant was serving pizza as usual, and the parking lot was filled with passersby getting a look at the damage.

Marc Schilder stopped his car to survey the wreckage outside Four Brothers.

“We grew up here. My son said this is the last restaurant standing from his childhood.”