Kent Fatal Fire?

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Does anyone have anything on a fatal fire this morning 2/14/06 in Kent @ 2725 Rt 301 near Peekskill Hollow Rd?

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Person found dead after house fire in Kent

By ROB RYSER

(Original publication: February 14, 2007)

The Journal News

KENT - One person is dead after a fire destroyed a single-family home on Route 301 in the Kent Cliffs section of town overnight, the Kent Fire Department said.

It was not clear at 7 a.m. who the person was, Kent Fire Chief Michael Christiansen said. The Putnam County coroner was still at the scene.

The blaze had completely taken over the home by the time the fire department got the 911 call at 3 a.m.

There was no chance for volunteers to enter blaze to look for occupants.

"The fire was from the floor to the roof," Christiansen said.

A cat and dog were also discovered dead, the chief said.

The fire was quickly put out after firefighters arrived.

No firefighters were injured, the chief said.

Route 301 remained closed at 7 a.m. from Peekskill Hollow Road to Ninham Road.

Check LoHud.com for updates and read more about this story tomorrow in The Journal News

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Patterson Engine was called M/A to the Kent FD for Standby during the fire. We saw it from a distance but didnt get too close as we were headed to their station. From what we could see it was already in a pile in the foundation at that point. A few guys from Kent that stopped in told us, the fire had totally engulfed the residence upon their arrival and had no chance of any interior attack. They are still trying to determine the ID of the fatality, but are pretty sure it was the homeowner.

[LCFD968 10]

yeah, very tough call from the start. very steep hill to house, wires down going up the hill to house and completely engulfed upon arrival of Kent FD's Chief.

Great job by KENT FD, Mahopac FD, Carmel FD and Lake Carmel FD. All the guys worked real hard knowing there is possiblity that there is a person or people in the residence and on our hands and knees sifting through everything imaginable to locate them.

Quick run dow of who was there:Call recieved 0244 hrs and last until cleared 0900hrs.

Putnam County Car 4

Putnam County Fire Investigation Team

Kent PD

Kent FD: 16-1-1, 16-4-2, 16-6-1, 16-4-3

Lake Carmel FD: 17-1-3, 17-4-1(tanker), 17-6-1(manpower and equpiment)

Mahopac FD: 18-1-1, 18-2-3 (source and manpower)

Carmel FD: 12-1-1, 12-4-1(tanker), 12-3-1(manpower)

Carmel Ambulnce : 31-7-1 (stnadby @ scene)

Patterson FD: 22-2-5 ( standby @ Kent FD)

[Guest DFFD227]

Jeez, what is there a firebug or something up in Putnam???

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Who knows, I am waiting for who is going to have one tonight. Three nights three fires here in putnam.

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Man dies in Kent house fire; owner was retired NYPD sergeant

By TERENCE CORCORAN

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: February 15, 2007)

KENT - The body of a man who died in a house fire on Route 301 early yesterday was so badly burned that it will have to be identified through medical records, police said.

"We're still working to identify the victim and notify family members," said Kent Sgt. Jerry Ranieri, who said he didn't expect to make identification until today at the earliest.

Neighbors said the house at 2713 Route 301 belonged to Thomas Szewczyk, 59, a retired New York City police sergeant and Vietnam veteran.

Firefighters found the victim's body in the rear of the one-story house just west of Peekskill Hollow Road, Kent Fire Chief Mike Christiansen said. A pet cat and dog also died in the fire.

Set on a hill away from the road, the structure was destroyed by the roughly 2:30 a.m. blaze. All that remained was the foundation and a chimney.

It was the third fire in Putnam County this week and the second to gut a private residence.

Neighbors said they tried frantically to rouse the man, but the heat and flames were too intense. Next-door neighbor Sam Ferranto said he awoke around 2:30 a.m. and looked out his window to see an orange glow.

"It was snowing and I wasn't sure what I saw, so I asked my wife and she said it looks like the house next door is on fire," Ferranto said.

Ferranto said he grabbed a lacrosse stick he had and ran next door, banging on the outside walls of the burning house in a desperate effort to wake his neighbor.

"In minutes, the heat was so intense that I had to back away," he said. "I was hoping that no one was home."

John Del Duca, a 45-year-old sheet-metal worker who lives next door on the other side of the house, said he got up around the same time to see the night aglow with flames.

"It was just lit up," Del Duca said. "I ran outside but I couldn't get past the property line. The fire was so hot."

Del Duca and his mother, Carol, said the house is owned by Szewczyk. Carol Del Duca described him as a good neighbor who usually kept to himself but offered to help if he sees them working in the yard. They said he has lived there for decades and has three adult children: a son and two daughters.

"He's a good guy. He'll do anything for you," Carol Del Duca said. "He is always very pleasant."

"He'd come over to borrow our hose from time to time. He's a nice guy. We're just hoping he wasn't home," John Del Duca said.

Szewczyk has been involved with veterans issues in Putnam County. He worked with a group of former servicemen and state lawmakers to rename a stretch of Interstate 84 the Putnam County Veterans Memorial Highway and he was one of four Putnam Vietnam vets who traveled to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Veterans Day 1987 to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

A New York City Police Department spokesman said Szewczyk retired in October 1993 as a sergeant after 20 years on the job. He worked at Manhattan's 26th Precinct.

Christiansen, the Kent fire chief, said the house was fully involved when firefighters arrived around 2:40 a.m. He immediately called for assistance. The Carmel, Lake Carmel and Mahopac fire departments went to the fire while a crew from Patterson stood by at the Kent firehouse.

The location of the house - set back on a hill with no driveway - made it particularly challenging for firefighters to reach the blaze, Christiansen said. No firefighter was hurt.

"We had to stretch lines up the hill. That, coupled with the cold weather, made it very difficult," he said.

The blaze was quickly extinguished, although Kent firefighters didn't clear the scene until around 9 a.m.

Kent police and the Putnam County Cause and Investigation Team will determine the cause of the fire, the third major blaze in Putnam County in as many days.

The Belle Levine Arts Center in Mahopac was destroyed by fire late Sunday night. A Southeast family lost its Peach Lake home Tuesday. No one was injured in those fires.