New Square, NY - State To Inspect House Fire Sites

New Square, NY - State inspectors plan to visit the site of every house fire in the village following complaints from firefighters that code violations were making it dangerous to respond to alarms.

Rockland County Fire Coordinator Gordon Wren Jr. said he was contacted by officials from the state's Division of Code Enforcement and Administration.

Wren and state inspector Daniel Nichols tried Tuesday to view a home where a hanging fluorescent lamp overheated an electrical cord and started a fire last week. Wren said he and Nichols were not allowed into the house by the homeowner. "In this case, he just wanted to take a look, and I gave him some photographs I had taken," said Wren, who responded to the fire at 56 Washington Avenue, where firefighters found that a portion of the basement — where the fire began — was also being used as storage space for a nearby electronics store, Wren said. He said grills were stacked from the floor to the ceiling. "We have a mess we need to straighten out, and for the first time in a while I feel positive. The right guy from the state is spearheading this, and we have been having cooperation from residents."

Wren said the state has been more aggressive in monitoring the village since the sometimes-contentious relationship between Hillcrest firefighters and village residents grew more hostile last month - after firefighters filed a criminal complaint claiming they had cornered two boys they believed were setting fires, but a village official helped them escape.

They said the state had identified more than 80 buildings that failed to meet state fire and safety codes. The owners will have to appear before a state board of review to obtain variances, and the village, also needs to bring homeowners before the board but had not done so yet. "I'm told they are working on it," they said.