By ANDY GARDNER

Space heaters are believed to have caused fires in Chase Mills and Gouverneur that left 10 people homeless and resulted in two firefighters being treated for injuries, according to fire officials.

On Wednesday around 4:30 p.m., just over 50 firefighters from Gouverneur and Richville fire departments responded to 36 Beckwith St.

Gouverneur Fire Chief Tom Conklin said there was “heavy fire” when they arrived on scene and as a result, all three apartments inside the building are no longer habitable.

“There’s severe damage to the front apartment and damage to the rest of the building,” the chief said.

He says all indications so far point to a space heater igniting nearby material.

“We believe it was combustibles too close to a space heater,” Conklin said.

He said firefighters were able to quickly contain the fire but were at the scene for hours making sure it didn’t reignite or spread.

“The majority of the fire was knocked down within 30 minutes or so. We were on scene for about four hours doing overhaul and making sure the building was safe to leave,” the chief said.

The American Red Cross on Thursday released a statement saying they provided financial assistance for necessities to five adults and three children, ages 1, 2 and 3, who were living at the address.

No injuries were reported, according to Conklin.

In Chase Mills, a two-story home burned and two firefighters were injured in a ladder accident, officials said.

Around 4:20 a.m. Thursday, about 100 firefighters from Louisville, Massena, Norfolk, Madrid and Waddington fire departments answered a report of a fire at 5 County Rte. 36, according to Louisville First Assistant Chief Pete Roberts.

He said the house is still standing but is essentially destroyed.

“Structurally, the house is gone,” Roberts said. “The fire didn’t reach the first floor, but the second floor was gutted. When we got there, there was fire out the … front and right-hand side … There was fire already vented out the two windows in the front of the house.”

He said a mishap with a ladder ended with two firefighters being treated for injuries and later released.

“When they charged the hose, it put them off the ladder because of the conditions and ice and everything,” Roberts said. “It was a real typical cold weather fire with a ton of ice in the road and a ton of frozen equipment.”

He said the county Route 36 fire is also believed to have been caused by a space heater.

“As far as we know right now, it was a space heater on the second floor,” he said, adding that he believes the heater malfunctioned.

Red Cross said they gave financial assistance for necessities to two adults living in the building.

Roberts praised the team effort of fire departments, police and rescue squads.

He said state troopers were already on scene when his department arrived and “that helped a lot when we first got there.”

He said the distance from their firehouse to the scene compounded their problems.

“From the time we got called to the time the truck was on the road, we were out in the first five minutes, but we had that long way to get there … it’s on the very edge of our district,” he said.

“Louisville really appreciates the neighboring departments and the help we got … our county coordinator, rescue squads,” Roberts said, adding that Massena and Madrid rescue squads assisted.