Another Working Structure Fire for Canton Firefighters
By Firefighter/EMT Eric Walraven
March 4, 2010
After a busy night of fighting a barn fire on the Sykes Road, a mutual aid chimney fire with Rennselaer Falls Fire, and a fire alarm activation at an SLU owned multiple occupancy on East Main Street, Canton firefighters had not even gotten all of the hose cleaned when Central Disptach dropped the tones for Canton Fire Department and County Car 1 for a possible structure fire at 11 O'Horo Road. Both Assistant Chiefs Bob Crowe and Erik Johnson arrived on scene to report a working structure fire in a double wide trailer type residence with fire and heavy smoke showing from the front of the structure. 2nd Assistant Chief Johnson immediately requested mutual aid with the Tanker Task force for Zone 1 to provide water supply to first arriving Engine 6. First arriving fire crews from Engine 6 immediately stretched two 1-3/4" attack handlines to both the front and the rear of the structure. Due to high winds, firefighters in the rear of the structure encountered an intense amount of heat from the fire but still made entry into the building and were able to knock down the seat of the fire. Initial searches found no occupants in the residence and a quick knockdown of the fire saved a good portion of the residence. After an extensive overhaul along with the assistance of Rennselaer Falls firefighters, Canton Firefighters were just beginning to take up when they were dispatched again to a possible Haz-Mat incident at St Lawrence University. There was one firefighter injury, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation by members of the St. Lawrence County Fire Investigation Team (Weiss and Wilson).
