There used two be two buildings hereNow there are none
Rick Gargiulo took this photo
I'll get back to automotive distractions tomorrow. Today we have more important things to talk about. On Monday, there was a fire in Corinth. The fire started around 10:30 in the evening, and wasn't fully extinguished until around 9 on Tuesday morning.
As per usual, I was completely tuned out when the fire erupted last night. No one called me, and I was three episodes deep in "Sex in the City," so I didn't hear about it until this morning. I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't even hear about this village-defining fire on the morning news like the rest of the world. Nope, as usual, I was listening to national news broadcast on WNYC, out of Manhattan.
So I arrived in the office clueless as usual. I was in the process of stripping off my layers from the walk through single digit temperatures to work when Betsy, my editor, all but ran into the office, yelling my name from across the room. Apparently I was the first reporter who entered her vision. She told me about the fire and gave me my marching order. Minutes later, after I'd scraped all the ice off of my car, I was on the way up 9N toward Corinth, ironically the same route I'd taken to get to the first fire I covered.
I could see a plume of smoke rising over the town as I approached this tiny settlement on the bank of the Hudson River, deep in the Adirondack foothills. When I arrived in town, it was easy to spot the fire. On the town's main intersection, Maple Avenue and Main Street, the fire had not just damaged the properties, it had destroyed them.
Two buildings had been reduced to a smoldering pile of rubble. A third was heavily damaged by flames and was torn down later on Tuesday. All three buildings had housed businesses, and one had occupied apartments.
This fire was mercifully different from the last one I covered, in that no one was killed or injured in this one, save one fire fighter, who was taken to a hospital with elevated blood pressure. It was also different in that this fire had burnt all night, forcing fire fighters to work through the long, cold night. By the time I got my ass on the scene, the fire had already been burning for nearly 12 hours, conditions that would test anyone.
It was easy to spot the chief sitting in his truck opposite the fire. He looked tired as I talked to him about the fire and the fight, and how he had pulled together more than 100 firemen, mostly volunteers, to fight the blaze. The business owners and property owners were also easy to spot. They were the tired-looking people on the verge of tears, surrounded by claim adjusters.
It sometimes feels like a fire of this magnitude would pass unnoticed in a place like Brooklyn. In Corinth, the fire was at the center of town. It was impossible to miss. And it had dramatically changed on the village's sky line. Everyone I talked to today, from the business owners to neighbors, were sad that the fire ravaged such fixtures of their memory.
I can certainly related to that sentiment. There's a lot more to say about this fire, but it'll have to wait until later. Good night.
As per usual, I was completely tuned out when the fire erupted last night. No one called me, and I was three episodes deep in "Sex in the City," so I didn't hear about it until this morning. I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't even hear about this village-defining fire on the morning news like the rest of the world. Nope, as usual, I was listening to national news broadcast on WNYC, out of Manhattan.
So I arrived in the office clueless as usual. I was in the process of stripping off my layers from the walk through single digit temperatures to work when Betsy, my editor, all but ran into the office, yelling my name from across the room. Apparently I was the first reporter who entered her vision. She told me about the fire and gave me my marching order. Minutes later, after I'd scraped all the ice off of my car, I was on the way up 9N toward Corinth, ironically the same route I'd taken to get to the first fire I covered.
I could see a plume of smoke rising over the town as I approached this tiny settlement on the bank of the Hudson River, deep in the Adirondack foothills. When I arrived in town, it was easy to spot the fire. On the town's main intersection, Maple Avenue and Main Street, the fire had not just damaged the properties, it had destroyed them.
Two buildings had been reduced to a smoldering pile of rubble. A third was heavily damaged by flames and was torn down later on Tuesday. All three buildings had housed businesses, and one had occupied apartments.
This fire was mercifully different from the last one I covered, in that no one was killed or injured in this one, save one fire fighter, who was taken to a hospital with elevated blood pressure. It was also different in that this fire had burnt all night, forcing fire fighters to work through the long, cold night. By the time I got my ass on the scene, the fire had already been burning for nearly 12 hours, conditions that would test anyone.
It was easy to spot the chief sitting in his truck opposite the fire. He looked tired as I talked to him about the fire and the fight, and how he had pulled together more than 100 firemen, mostly volunteers, to fight the blaze. The business owners and property owners were also easy to spot. They were the tired-looking people on the verge of tears, surrounded by claim adjusters.
It sometimes feels like a fire of this magnitude would pass unnoticed in a place like Brooklyn. In Corinth, the fire was at the center of town. It was impossible to miss. And it had dramatically changed on the village's sky line. Everyone I talked to today, from the business owners to neighbors, were sad that the fire ravaged such fixtures of their memory.
I can certainly related to that sentiment. There's a lot more to say about this fire, but it'll have to wait until later. Good night.
1 comment:
This was a really moving blog, thank you for sharing this story,although very tragic, moments like this always put into perspective daily struggles.
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