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Father, three children escape fire with minor injuries in Morristown; house a total loss

Posted 1/18/18

By CRAIG FREILICH MORRISTOWN – Three children and their father escaped a fire in their Water Street home this morning and have been treated for minor injuries. Morristown Fire Chief Jay Moore said …

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Father, three children escape fire with minor injuries in Morristown; house a total loss

Posted

By CRAIG FREILICH

MORRISTOWN – Three children and their father escaped a fire in their Water Street home this morning and have been treated for minor injuries.

Morristown Fire Chief Jay Moore said the first floor was fully involved when they arrived two minutes after they received the call at 7:35 a.m.

All four of the residents were out of the house when firefighters got there. One of them called the fire in to emergency personnel.

The father of the family was asleep on the first floor and escaped. The three children barely made it out through an upstairs window. They were all taken to Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center for treatment.

A fourth child had got on the bus to school at 7 a.m., Moore said.

With the first floor completely engulfed in flames, Moore said his firefighters directed their attention to a seven-unit apartment building only 20 feet behind the 408 Water Street house. That building escaped unscathed, Moore said.

In addition to Morristown volunteers, departments from Brier Hill, Heuvelton, Ogdensburg and Hammond were on the scene, along with ambulances from three rescue squads.

While the origin of the fire is unknown at this time, Moore noted that there were several space heaters at work in the house, and that he believed the blaze was electrical in nature.

No foul play is suspected, he said.

The house is a total loss. “We’re tearing it down right now,” Moore said this afternoon.

Authorities were not yet releasing the family’s name.