04/28/2026
Great job by everyone involved
The swift thinking of two 11 year-old girls on a bike ride, Julianna and Kollette, and the swift response of Deputy Andrew Horst contributed to a Greenport residence being saved this evening.
The Greenport Fire District was dispatched at 17:49 this evening for a reported working structure fire at 166 Fingar Rd. Car 1 responded at 17:50 and 911 reported receiving a single call from an 11 year-old female who reported seeing smoke and flames from the structure. A Columbia County Sheriff's Office patrol arrived at 17:54 and confirmed a working fire. Car 1 then requested the City of Hudson Fire Department to respond for FAST duties. Car 1 arrived at 17:57 with the first engine (25-25) arriving at 18:00.
After arriving, Car 1 reported visible smoke and fire in the wall around the chimney. Deputy Horst reported that upon his arrival, he approached the fire deploying his ABC extinguisher on the visible fire on the porch and in the exposed chimney area. A primary line was stretched to the basement. Fire crews gained access to the residence and used had tools to open up the interior walls, exposing the fire inside the wall around the chimney. A secondary line was stretched to the first floor. Another crew made their way to the roof to cut a vent hole and check for extension in the eves.
Initially unsure of the extent of the fire, At 18:08 Car 1 requested our initial tanker response for the south district. This response brought Claverack Fire District, Germantown Hose Company #1, the Livingston Fire District, and Taghkanic Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 with tankers and Taghkanic with an engine to the fill site. The dry hydrant at the intersection of Fingar Rd and Yates Rd was designated as the fill site. With Claverack’s tanker out of service, Car 1 instead requested them to the fill site and Taghkanic to respond with an additional tanker.
All fire was knocked down quickly and the damage to the residence was fairly minor, all things considered. National Grid was requested to the scene to disconnect power. The Fire Coordinator Office - Columbia County, NY assisted on scene with oversight and fire investigation.
Two factors positively impacted the outcome of this alarm, timing and swift action. If the fire were reported 15 to 30 minutes later, crews would have been arriving to a much different scene. Julianna and Colette didn’t skip a beat. They called 911 and reported what they saw and gave the closest address they knew. These two young ladies are an exemplary example of fire prevention training paying off. Their family and friends should be extremely proud of their swift thinking. Additionally, Deputy Horst’s swift action upon arrival stunted the fire growth enough to buy responding units time to gain entry and finish extinguishment. Deputy Horst should be commended for his quick action. Finally, the swift and efficient action of the firefighters who responded ultimately led to a quick extinguishment. A job well done all the way around.
Units responding from Greenport included 24-54, 24-74, 25-25, 25-70, 26-10, and 26-30. While ultimately not needed, thank you to our mutual-aid units from Claverack, Germantown, Hudson, Livingston, and Taghkanic. Also thank you to the Deputy Fire Coordinators, Greenport Rescue Squad, CCSO, and Columbia County NY 911 for their assistance during the incident.
Mark D. Taylor, Chief
Register-Star
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