by Bea Peterson
The Hoosick Falls Fire Department responded to a call at 59 Church Street at 11:50 Thursday night, April 7. “When we arrived there was a working fire downstairs near the pizza oven,” said Hoosick Falls Fire Chief Robert Bornt. The fire had also worked its way into the wall. “We had it knocked down in the first 45 minutes,” he said. The building is old. It has no fire stops, some false ceilings and walls covering walls.
Fire Departments responding to the call were Hoosick, Hoosick Falls Buskirk, North Hoosick, West Hoosick, Pitttown, Cambridge, White Creek, Bennington Village and Bennington Rural. The Hoosick Rescue Squad and the Mohawk Ambulance were also at the scene. The Rensselaer County Cause and Origin Team began an immediate investigation. “We used an imaging camera to check walls throughout the building three times,” said Bornt. At that point there was some damage to Cee Cee Pizzeria on the first floor and some some smoke damage on the second and third floor. Fire companies cleared the scene at 5:15 am. The fire investigators were still in the area discussing the fire when they noticed flames in the building. “At 5:30 we were back at the scene,” said Chief Bornt. Fire had reignited in the same place only this time it went through a chase, an open void, and was already on the second floor, going through to the third. This time the pizzeria was completely destroyed and the second and third floors suffered heavy water and smoke damage. The departments were finally cleared at 10:30 am.
The building is owned by Jeff Endee who lived on the third floor. There are two apartments on the second floor.
Samir (Chico) Mohammad Ali of Johnsonville, a friend of Endee, opened Cee Cee Pizzeria in January.
The cause of the fire has not been determined and is still under investigation.
Volunteers Needed
“All of the Departments did an awesome job,” said Chief Bornt. Several firefighters were needed to enter the building wearing air packs. Each Department, the Chief said, has only a few willing to take on that job. And they are limited to the amount of time they can be in a building. When one team comes out, another team goes in.
“Every department is operating shorthanded,” said Bornt. “There just aren’t enough volunteers.” So far this year the HFFD has responded to 87 calls. Twenty-eight of those calls were related to the ice storm. “We are averaging 26/27 calls a month,” he said. “And we’re barely into the fourth month of the year.”