Clutter presents challenges to firefighters responding to burning Town of Newburgh home
Town of Newburgh firefighters could not immediately say whether the clutter contributed to the fire, but said it made it difficult for firefighters to make their way through the house.
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Firefighters had to navigate piles of clutter when they arrived to a Town of Newburgh home that had already nearly fully engulfed.
Town fire investigators are looking into why the fire on Victoria Drive burned so quickly.
Emergency calls started coming in to dispatchers just after 5 a.m. Monday.
"I heard explosions and a fire alarm," neighbor Joe Danza said. "I walked outside and could see the smoke. Actually, I could almost see the flames from my house."
One woman who was inside home at the time and called 911 made it out.
She was transported to the hospital and is expected to be OK.
Firefighters told News 12 clutter inside and outside the house made their jobs hard.
They could not say whether the clutter contributed to the fire, but said it made it difficult for firefighters to make their way through the house.
The fire likely started near the back of the home, firefighters said, where the most damage was.
A gas container, lawnmowers and an old Yugo car were in the backyard by a collapsed back porch.
The Yugo was apparently stored under the porch.
Several fire departments arrived within minutes of the initial calls.
There was nothing they could do but control it, the chief said.
"The response was very good," said Stedroy Burke, who lives across the street from the destroyed home. "The response was very good. Newburgh, I'm really proud of them ... It just gave me confidence that when we give money to the fire department, they're using it well. That's all I care about."
Several neighbors told News 12 they have complained to town officials about the clutter and numerous cars on the property.
Investigators later arrived to collect evidence, including two charred guns.
An insurance adjuster said the home is likely a total loss.
A friend of the family said the home is not fully insured.
News 12 has reached out to the Town of Newburgh Code Enforcement Department seeking information about neighbors' complaints and/or any code violations.
No one from the department was available for comment by the time this story was published.
