FirePhotography > Bill Johnson (FDPhotounit)
> Journalism > 6+ Alarm Structure Fire - Hudson River Psychiatric Center - Fairview Fire District
Numerous photos of a fire that occurred Hudson River Psychiatric Center located in the Town of Poughkeepsie N.Y. - Fairview Fire District. The fire began around 7:00 P.M. on May 31, 2007 and crews remained on the scene for days wetting down hot spots and picking up hose. The official cause has been determined to be from a lightning strike from a severe storm that passed through the area just prior to the fires discovery.
The Hudson River Psychiatric Center or as it was commonly referred to "HRPC" is a huge complex of buildings that dates back to 1867 and was used to house and treat the states mentally ill until the state began closing the facility I believe in the late 80's. The site had so many huge buildings that they had their own fully staffed fire department to provide fire protection for the property and the hospitals occupants. Twenty-six buildings on the former hospital grounds have been listed as "historically significant properties" and the site was sold to a developer in 2005 for redevelopment. Here is a link to a site with the history of the HRPC :http://www.historic51.org/
By FDNY standards (1 alarm = 2 engines and a truck), this was the equivalent of a 6 Alarm fire and it is the first incident that I have ever been to that 6 elevated master streams were in operation at once and when I left some 7-1/2 hrs later, I could see flames in my rearview mirror as I left the scene. The firefighters were faced with significant challenges upon their arrival. First was the sheer size of the building(s) involved, secondly was that the buildings were attached to each other making for a huge exposure problem as well as a maze to navigate (It took me 20 minutes to walk from the front to the rear of the fire building), and lastly was that the sites hydrant system was taken out of service. With no functioning hydrant system, firefighters were forced to lay several miles of large diameter 5" hose to supply the needed water to battle the fire.
This fire proved the value of a properly implemented incident command system as well as the efficiency of Dutchess Counties 911 Dispatch Center. This was most likely one of the largest mutual-aid incidents in Dutchess County history with departments from most of Dutchess County as well numerous units from Ulster as well and I think pretty much everything went without a hitch with relatively little chaos.....
The Hudson River Psychiatric Center or as it was commonly referred to "HRPC" is a huge complex of buildings that dates back to 1867 and was used to house and treat the states mentally ill until the state began closing the facility I believe in the late 80's. The site had so many huge buildings that they had their own fully staffed fire department to provide fire protection for the property and the hospitals occupants. Twenty-six buildings on the former hospital grounds have been listed as "historically significant properties" and the site was sold to a developer in 2005 for redevelopment. Here is a link to a site with the history of the HRPC :http://www.historic51.org/
By FDNY standards (1 alarm = 2 engines and a truck), this was the equivalent of a 6 Alarm fire and it is the first incident that I have ever been to that 6 elevated master streams were in operation at once and when I left some 7-1/2 hrs later, I could see flames in my rearview mirror as I left the scene. The firefighters were faced with significant challenges upon their arrival. First was the sheer size of the building(s) involved, secondly was that the buildings were attached to each other making for a huge exposure problem as well as a maze to navigate (It took me 20 minutes to walk from the front to the rear of the fire building), and lastly was that the sites hydrant system was taken out of service. With no functioning hydrant system, firefighters were forced to lay several miles of large diameter 5" hose to supply the needed water to battle the fire.
This fire proved the value of a properly implemented incident command system as well as the efficiency of Dutchess Counties 911 Dispatch Center. This was most likely one of the largest mutual-aid incidents in Dutchess County history with departments from most of Dutchess County as well numerous units from Ulster as well and I think pretty much everything went without a hitch with relatively little chaos.....