HRPC Fire (Dutchess) 5-31-07

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A little while ago I heard Dutchess Co. 911 req. all available manpower from Fairview, Arlington, La Grange, Roosevelt, & New Hamburg to "the fire scene". They going back there again or is this a different incident?

[bmfd231 3]

Was this anything like the Kings College fire? (for those of you back here in Westchester)

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From the pictures, I would say no.

When we arrived for Kings, the lodge (400 x 100 4 story) was fully involved and collapsed a short time after arrival. There was a second building attached to the lodge about the same size but newer and more fire resistant. This building was an interior attact which was key in saving that building. A third 10 story building behind it had some minor fires to deal with.

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PhotoUnit - VERY nice pics....amazing camera work...and even managed to capture Buffman229!

And BEYER!!!!!!!!

[JetPhoto 626]

From the Poughkeepsie Journal

Lots of good coverage on www.PoughkeepsieJournal.com

Saturday, June 2, 2007

Fire scene calming down

Firefighters have cleared the scene at the former grounds of the Hudson River Psychiatric Center, where a massive fire destroyed the south wing of the main administration building in the Town of Poughkeepsie Thursday.

“Things are calming down. We have a lot of clean-up to do,” Fairview Fire District Deputy Chief Tory Gallante said this afternoon. “We’re going to be going back every couple of hours to check up on it.”

He said firefighters worked all night into this morning, when they stopped flowing water at about 11:15 a.m. and left the scene at about 12:15 p.m.

“The Town of Poughkeepsie Police will be securing the scene,” Gallante said. “This way if anybody decides to go up there, they know the police are around.”

The fire's investigation is still continuing.

"It’s being done by Town of Poughkeepsie Police and the Dutchess County Fire Investigation Division and the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control," said Gallante. "It could take anywhere from a week to a month."

This building was not under active renovations (before this fire) It has been in the planning stages for several years. The town of poughkeepsie has had a moritorium in place to stop them from building. (I can see a lawsuit coming there, red the artical below.)

Saturday, June 2, 2007

Co-owner says fire was 'preventable'

By Michael Valkys

Poughkeepsie Journal

While the official cause of Thursday's fire at the former Hudson River Psychiatric Center campus has not been determined, a co-owner believes the Town of Poughkeepsie's failure to move development plans forward may have played a role.

Hudson Heritage CPCR Ventures Managing Director Arnold Moss, who has worked to acquire and refurbish the 156-acre site for nearly a decade, criticized town officials for failing to approve his two-year-old request to rezone the property.

"They have completely resisted any serious effort'' to rezone, Moss said of Hudson Heritage's request to create a historic revitalization zone on the Route 9 property just north of Home Depot.

Hudson Heritage's plans have been stalled by the town's two-year-old moratorium on residential construction of 11 lots or more. The ban also prevents developers from beginning the approval process for projects.

The town board enacted the moratorium in 2005 so officials could complete the town's long-awaited master plan update. That process has been delayed several times. The new master plan is expected to be approved next month.

"I think we might have started some of the preliminary restoration efforts,'' Moss said of old buildings such as the one that caught fire.

Hudson Heritage officials have complained several times in the past two years the moratorium was causing already-neglected buildings to further deteriorate.

"Much, if not all of this, might have been preventable,'' Moss said of the fire. "It's an outrage.''

It is possible Hudson Heritage could have had workers on the site if the moratorium was not in place, and they could have helped prevent the fire from spreading so quickly, he said.

Moss was effusive in his praise for local fire departments, police and town officials for their efforts in combating the fire and their support of Hudson Heritage in the blaze's aftermath.

Town Supervisor Patricia Myers, who was at the fire scene for hours, said she is sympathetic to Moss's feelings, but the town was not to blame in any way for the fire.

"I'm sorry the moratorium wasn't lifted, too,'' Myers said of the longer-than-expected master plan process. "But I don't think any entity can be held responsible for that.''

Myers said she still supports Hudson Heritage's efforts to develop the property with a mix of residential and commercial uses. She said the new master plan should support those efforts.

"It's very flexible,'' Myers said. "They just have to come in with what their overall plan is. ... I wanted them to go forward with this from the day they first purchased the property.''

Hudson Heritage is not the only developer to have a project delayed by the moratorium. Ginsburg Development of Westchester County has seen its plans for hundreds of homes at the Casperkill Golf Club property put on hold as well. The 18-hole course is expected to remain open under the proposal.

Reach Michael Valkys at mvalkys@poughkeepsiejournal.com or 845-437-4816.

[Guest Photounit]

Thanks for everyones kudos..... I am still feeling the pain from this incident (Blisters on my feet) It was a lot of work just getting these shots and I can only imagine what Chief Gallante and his crew feels..... I was only there 7 hours...... I got off easy As far as photographing Buffman229 goes, that was a tough one ......

[Turborich 12]

Just came back @ 8am from an 18 hour tour there on 3246. Great job by all and an awesome stop all things considered... it could have been a LOT worse. There were still hotspots on the A-B side primarily on the A when I left. City and Fairview drenched the D-A corner pretty well all night and we were on the C side. We are all under the impression that was in between floors and being stubborn by the point we left.. unknown if it is done yet or whether they ended up re-positioning a ladder to the A side where the hotspots were.

A HUGE thanks to the Red Cross, DCDER, and particularly the mechanics on duty for the duration of the incident (primarily Dave Grundon from AFD, whom is probably hallucinating by now)- without these guys we all would have been out of fuel 6 hours into it!

Rich

[FFD941 20]

A little while ago I heard Dutchess Co. 911 req. all available manpower from Fairview, Arlington, La Grange, Roosevelt, & New Hamburg to "the fire scene". They going back there again or is this a different incident?

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This was for manpower to the scene to pick-up all of the LDH

[Turborich 12]

This was for manpower to the scene to pick-up all of the LDH

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This was right after I left... how many people showed up? That must have SUCKED as there was easily a mile and a half of 5" there...

[JetPhoto 626]

This was right after I left... how many people showed up? That must have SUCKED as there was easily a mile and a half of 5" there...

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I measured it out in GIS and it looks like over 3 miles of hose...

It was 2800 feet from the Mobile station to the front of the building and it was 4800 feet from Fulton St hydrant double layed to the main entrance up to the front of the building. Then there was other locations that had several hundred feet of 5" laid out.

And then there was the case of a fire driver that drove his engine over a 5 inch coupling and got it stuck between the dual wheels......

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I measured it out in GIS and it looks like over 3 miles of hose...

It was 2800 feet from the Mobile station to the front of the building and it was 4800 feet from Fulton St hydrant double layed to the main entrance up to the front of the building. Then there was other locations that had several hundred feet of 5" laid out.

And then there was the case of a fire driver that drove his engine over a 5 inch coupling and got it stuck between the dual wheels......

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I JUST heard about this.........PRICELESS!

[Turborich 12]

I JUST heard about this.........PRICELESS!  

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Oh MAN you GOTTA PM me the details!!!!! Bwahahahahaha!

[64FFMJK 21]

some interesting reading about the fire from "urban explorers"

also some anonomous photos from the roof as the fire was burning but no FD laders are visable????

UER forum

UER NE forum

I hope some idiot did not start this fire but I am now having doubts about lightning after what has been said and also one of the photos.

[Porsha911gt3 8]

Here is the photo that he is referring to. I think the Ladders were on the other side of the building, but regardless why was this person on the roof?

Edited June 5, 2007 by Porsha911gt3

[64FFMJK 21]

I am not sure but when I was on scene I beleve that 2 ladders were set up to the right in the picture and 2 on the other side of the building but it is hard to determine what direction this photo is facing is it looking north or south. I think it might have been taken from the top of the main admin building in which case it could very well be one of the first in ladder companies that took the photo but then why would they not post / admit to taking the photo. it appers that several people reguarly went into the building for thrills.

[John107 0]

awsome pics!

[Oswegowind 17]

A lot of bad secrets went down with that one! Hope nobody brought any ghosts home with them!

[Guest loudog]

If you ever want to see a sick movie about 4 guys removing asbestos from an abandoned mental hospital just like this one, look for "session 9". You'll never drive past one of those places without thinking about that movie after you see it.

[64FFMJK 21]

From Pok Journal

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Investigators: Lightning strike only possible cause for psych center fire

Investigators have determined that a lightning strike remains the only possible cause of a fire that ravaged a portion of a building at the former Hudson River Psychiatric Center last week.

The fire gutted the south wing of the center's historic main building. It started Thursday night and continued to burn until early Saturday. At its peak, the blaze could be seen for miles.

The investigation ruled out all other causes -such as arson or non-weather-related accidental causes, Town of Poughkeepsie police said Wednesday.

Immediately prior to the report of the fire, a severe storm passed through the area of the hospital.

Subsequent investigation of the scene, witnesses' statements and weather data resulted in the determination, police said.

The investigation was conducted jointly by fire investigators from the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department, the Dutchess County Fire Investigation Team and the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control.

I am glad to hear that thas is the case. Everyone there put forth a great effort and alot of work from fire atack to racking all the LDH.

[Guest Photounit]

Ghosts at the HRPC?

I found a gallery of some well done images of the interior of HRPC...

It's here : http://joel.smugmug.com/gallery/2088903

They are definitely creepy and it's obvious a lot of bizar S*#t went on there....... The third image may be from the building that burned....... While I was there I overheard numerous people say that the HRPC is inhabited by ghosts........I took this shot and you can see three "Ghosts" that have donned turnout gear and were fighting the fire...... Boooooooo

Photo copyright 2007 Bill Johnson/FDPhotunit.com - Not to be used w/o permission

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Whoa! What gives?!

[bil14ga 1]

Whoa!  What gives?!

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The pictures are from the old Cheney building. It is the newer builing that is easily seen from Route 9. It was abandoned around 2003 by the state when they moved to the new campus.