A vacant home in Spring Valley went up in flames around 9 a.m. Tuesday morning.

The smoke from the home at 1 Wolfe Drive could be seen from miles away.

"So I got a ton of calls telling me that my house is on fire - or next door is on fire," said Jean-Marie Tribbie who has lived at 3 Wolfe Drive for more than two decades.

He was at work when the fire started next door. His home is immediately next to 1 Wolfe Drive. His home has some fire damage to its roof but is mostly destroyed inside from water and smoke.

He showed News 12 his insurance paperwork ready to go.

"It is what it is. What can I do? It's a part of life. Once you're living under the blue sky, anything that can happen- will happen somehow. So it is what it is," said Tribbie.

An army of fire departments from across Rockland worked together to fight the flames in frigid temperatures.

County fire official Chris Kear explains the weather can be an issue because of how icy surfaces get from the water they use. He says everyone was "walking diligently."

He explains they had another challenge, too.

"There was a heavy amount of fire upon arrival. It takes a lot of firefighters to try and be aggressive in the fire attack and get ahead of the fire. Unfortunately, the fire got up into the second floor and into the attic area and the roof did collapse on the one side," said Kear.

Rockland's Office of Buildings & Codes says squatters were in the home, but neighbors say they have not seen squatters there.

A source tells News 12 that no gas or electric were not hooked up at 1 Wolfe Drive.

A record search shows an LLC purchased the home in June.

So far, there is no word on what caused the fire.