PAUL SMITHS - The main cabin of a camp on a family-owned island on Osgood Pond was destroyed by fire this morning.
Someone across the shore, in the Beech Hill camp area, reported the fire around 4:15 a.m., said Roger Smith, chief of the Paul Smiths-Gabriels Volunteer Fire Department. Firefighters accessed the island by boat from the public landing off White Pine Road, Smith said. Smith said the building was a "total loss."
Two people were staying at the camp at the time, but they were sleeping in a different building, Smith said.
The fire started in the kitchen area, Smith said. The cause is still being investigated, and Smith said lightning cannot be ruled out.
Lightning accompanied a thunderstorm that rolled through the area Sunday night and this morning. More are expected today. They are caused by the conflict of a cold air mass pushing south from Canada into a humid, high-pressure system in the northeastern United States.
The Paul Smiths-Gabriels, Saranac Lake, Bloomingdale and Lake Placid volunteer fire departments responded, and some firefighters were still on the scene as of 9 a.m.
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Apartment burns on Main St., Saranac Lake
By NATHAN BROWN, Staff Writer
SARANAC LAKE - The inside of the Adirondack Eye Center building on Main Street was damaged after a fire in the kitchen of a third-floor apartment set off the sprinkler system Sunday night.
The Saranac Lake Volunteer Fire Department was notified of the fire at 9:52 p.m., when the building's sprinklers went off, triggering the alarm system, according to fire Chief Brendan Keough. When volunteers arrived, they found the fire in the apartment.
Volunteers knocked down the door to get into the apartment and found the resident inside, standing there. The fire was mostly out by then, due to the sprinkler system, but the apartment was full of smoke, Keough said.
Volunteers helped the resident out of the apartment and to safety. He was treated for smoke inhalation and transported to Adirondack Medical Center by the Saranac Lake Rescue Squad.
The fire was mostly contained to a small area of the kitchen. The cause is still being investigated but is likely electrical, Keough said.
The fire damage wasn't too extensive, but there was water damage to all three floors due to the sprinklers.
The Saranac Lake Volunteer Fire Department responded with two trucks and 25 members, and volunteers were back in service by 11:45 p.m. The Lake Placid Volunteer Fire Department stood by at Saranac Lake's station with one truck and 14 members.
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Boat catches fire on Upper Saranac Lake
By JESSICA COLLIER and NATHAN BROWN, Staff Writers
A boat caught fire near Donaldsons' campgrounds Sunday afternoon.
The Tupper Lake Volunteer Fire Department got the call at 4:55 p.m. Sunday to respond to 4426 state Route 30, the camp area, where a boat was reported to be on fire. The department contacted the Saranac Lake Volunteer Fire Department to respond with its fire boat, since the burning boat was off shore.
Tupper Lake firefighters checked the dock near where the boat had caught fire, since there were reports that the dock was also on fire, but there was no fire found there.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The Saranac Lake Volunteer Fire Department responded at 5 p.m. with one boat and 12 members, and volunteers were back in service by 6:01 p.m. The boat is kept at the Saranac Inn boat launch.
The Piercefield Volunteer Fire Company stood by at the Tupper Lake station with one truck and five members while Tupper Lake was at the call.
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Contact Nathan Brown at 518-891-2600 ext. 26 or nbrown@adirondackdailyenterprise.com. Contact Jessica Collier at 518-891-2600 ext. 25 or jcollier@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.
