Right Place, Right Time: Firefighters At “First Responder Night” Flock From Racetrack To Put Out Amish Home Fire
An Amish home in Clayton, New York went up in flames last week – but thanks in part to a First Responder Night happening at a local racetrack, part of the home was able to be saved.
That’s because the track was quite near the fire – meaning a heavy response was at the ready.
More from WWNY on the story:
Last Friday, a home at 29841 Herbrecht Road in the town of Clayton caught fire. The Amish family who lived there escaped safely.
Volunteer fire departments will tell you it can be a struggle to get enough manpower to the scene of a blaze. But Friday evening was different.
“Any time our trucks roll out of our barn, our policy at town of Clayton is you have to have your gear with you in the vehicles. So all of our guys that was at Can-Am had their turnout gear, and I’m assuming that all the other departments did too, because when they arrived, they were willing to go to work,” said Clayton Deputy Fire Chief Corey Dorchester.
It turns out that it was First Responder Night at Can-Am Speedway in LaFargeville. Only 10 minutes away, it made it easy for many departments to get to the fire so quickly.
A happy coincidence of having a lot of first responders gathered in one place – and having fully ready trucks and gear at hand – meant that a large firefighting response could be mustered quickly.
And that was critical for the response, given the rural location of the fire. A lot of tankers were needed since there were no hydrants available along the road.
And thanks to the swift, consequential response, the firefighters were able to save the home’s structure, along with some of the family’s valuables – although the inside was “gutted”.
But would you be surprised if I told you the Amish family has already started rebuilding their home?
A hard experience for the family no doubt, but no one was hurt, and, as is custom, they’ll be helped by the Amish community in their rebuilding efforts.
And they can thank the great work of local responder teams who happened to be in the right place at the right time.
Amish fire in Clayton, NY
Wow!! How great is that?? Having first responders so close. What a great policy that firefighters have to have their gear with them at all times. My brother was a firefighter and paramedic for a number of years but I don’t think their fire station had such a policy in place. So good to know that the Amish community there will help the family rebuild. Let’s hope this fire is but a distant memory very soon. Thanks for the story, Erik.