Photos by Rev. William Siktberg

The late afternoon of Friday, October 8, 1971 was mild. The evening rush hour was starting to die down. Of course that is a relative statement because the evening rush in those days usually didn’t last but a half hour or so. It was about 5:30pm when men working in the back yard noticed smoke coming from the basement. Protection Engine Company responded immediately to the alarm of fire on Main Street, which turned out to be the largest (3-alarm) such Main Street blaze since the Grand Union Plaza fire in 1962. The building that housed the Fishkill Tire and Auto Supply Company, at what is now 1103 Main Street, had an abundance of thick black smoke seeping from it. The building, for many years before the Tire Shop took up ownership in 1969, was home to Auchmoody’s Fishkill Hardware. It was the last in a series of abutted brick structures that started at North Street and moved west- The Busy Bee, The White House, Edmond’s Florist, and Fishkill Tire. A driveway separated Fishkill Tire from a wooden frame house occupied at the time by Arthur and Cecile Stern, proprietors of the Fishkill Department Store. Another drive way, then the small building housing Otto’s Meat Market, a larger building housing a Barber Shop, and then the Van Wyck Hall. The brick buildings were all built after the disastrous fire of 1871 that destroyed a good deal of Main Street. The fact that the Tire Shop blaze occurred within a couple of months of the 100th anniversary of that disastrous blaze was not overlooked by many of us.

Chief Glenn Scofield Sr. and Assistant Chief Don Williams Sr. were in charge of the incident. George Wolfe was Captain at the time. Rad Wilson was First Lieutenant and Michael Gallagher, Albert Carr, and I were Second Lieutenants. Engine 1 (Ward LaFrance) was the first to respond. It located to the main street side of the building. Engine 2 (GMC) and Engine 3 responded soon after. Engine 2 hit the hydrant in front of the Fishkill Pharmacy (Corner of North Street and Main Street). I was directed to drive Engine 3 to set up a supply line from Givens Lane to the rear of the building.

The seat of the fire was determined to be in mid-basement. An initial attack was commenced through the basement door at the rear of the building using 1 ½” hand lines from Engine 3 and a second hand line from Engine 1. Many, many tires were stacked to the ceiling with passageways between them extremely tight.

Through dense black smoke, the diffused deep cherry red glow of flame could be seen, but the seat of the flames could not located. Attempts at approaching the seat of the fire proved virtually impossible owing to maneuverability room being extremely limited by piles of tires and other wares stored in the basement and the incessant churning of the dense black smoke rendering our firefighters virtually blind in unfamiliar surroundings. The entry crews tried several ways to force water to their “best guess” of the fire location. But, to no avail. And then their air tanks ran out of air and they had to back out. Just as they were clearing the basement door, a terrific back draft explosion occurred blowing smoke and flame through the door and knocking those near the door preparing to make the second entry, off their feet. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt but the fire gained a strong hold in the much-refurbished interior of the building and ignition of tires was well under way. A simultaneous attack was also attempted into the front door of the building. The thick smoke, heat and stacks of tires inhibited any kind of effective advance. More than one fire fighter reported not being able to see his hand in front of his face. One report received by PECO was that there were 3000 tires stocked in the building in the basement and first floor. Some tires were removed by the team as they attempted their entry on the first floor.

The first floor of the building had multiple ceilings one of which was made from ornate copper and painted. Walls had been placed over other walls with a variety of building materials and were in some places more than one foot thick. It acted like an oven with the heat generated from the lowest point in the building. After several attempts to extinguish the fire with foam and to access the fire through walls of tires, concern for the remainder of the block became paramount. The foam and water simply did not reach the fire because it was blocked by the tires and other wares. And so a decision was made to confine the fire to the building of origin in attempt to save the remaining buildings in the block. Assistant Chief Don Williams Sr. worked the roof command with the City of Beacon personnel. Through the skillful use of the ladder truck from the City of Beacon, the fire was forced to burn around the edges of the roof of the tire shop allowing the center of the roof to pancake into the building.

Ground crews kept a close watch on the interior walls of the adjacent building. The strategy was successful. The block was saved. The thick brick wall between the Tire Shop and Florist probably also contributed to the containment of the blaze. The Florist Shop did receive significant smoke and water damage and the White House and the Busy Bee also received water damage in their basements. Mutual aid companies included the Slater Chemical Company from Glenham, the Rombout Fire Company,New Hackensack, Chelsea, Hughsonville and Mase Hook & Ladder from the City of Beacon. The East Fishkill Fire Department responded with their hose truck from EF Station 1 and laid a water supply line from the Route 9 Bridge over the Fishkill Creek to the scene that augmented the Village mains. The Mutual Aid brought together over 150 firefighters to combat the blaze. Sloper - Willen and Beacon Volunteer Ambulance crews stood by at the scene. The Village Police, Dutchess County Sheriff Office, and Town of Fishkill Constables also assisted as did the Dutchess County Bureau of Fire. The fire was finally brought under control about 1:00 AM Saturday, October 9th but it was not officially extinguished until Sunday evening, October 10th at 8:15 p.m., some 50+ hours and after we received the alarm. This is still a PECO record for the longest continuous alarm the company had ever responded to.

Deluge guns were used almost continually from the time the roof caved in until the official call of “Fire’s out”. With the roof lying on top of the second floor and the second floor on top of the first floor with hundreds of tires buried and smoldering in the rubble, it was the only safe way to maintain control and expect extinguishment. Engine 3 was reassigned basement pump-out duty. Water had spread through all the remaining store basements as well. So, the objective became to keep the water level below the electric service distribution in the block. Water was not a problem. Between the mains and the line from the Fishkill Creek, plenty of water was available. But as you may know, putting out a burning tire with water is much more difficult than putting out a piece of wood on fire with water.

The water department reported pumping more than a million gallons during the alarm. This included additional water from the City of Beacon system. The weather was cooperative. Low winds and relatively cool temperatures aided the firefighting During a review of the premises Sunday morning, the Chief noted that the western wall had become unstable. He felt the safest thing to do was to force the wall down. Using deluge guns played on the wall, the Company did just that. The entire building was later razed and a new structure for the Tire Shop with a significant setback was erected on the site where it remains today (10 AUG 2008). As timing would have it, Glenham’s Slater Chemical Company was celebrating its 50th Anniversary on Saturday, October 9th. PECO appreciated their support with the blaze and subsequent extra clean-up they went through to make ready for the celebration parade. PECO was also invited to participate in the Glenham parade. So, without sleep, and a quick shower and change, a considerable representation from PECO marched in Glenham the afternoon of the 9th while Hughsonville Fire Company manned the deluge guns in front of the Tire Shop. After the parade, the membership returned to the fire lines to spend another night and day extinguishing the still smoldering rubble.

Many firefighters knew the story of Fishkill’s Great Fire in December of 1871 almost 100 years before. Most men did not sleep, so determined were they that this fire would not be a repeat of those times. The effort was well commended by the village residents as they praised the work of the men in saving the block and limiting the loss to the Tire Store. Much of that credit for the effort rightly went to Chief Glenn Scofield and his Assistant Chief, Don Williams.