WALDEN, N.Y. -- Sunday Morning, Firefighters returned to the site of a late night fire to put out rekindled hot spots on Orange Avenue in Walden.
“They found a pocket, there’s some smoke coming out, where going to try and get to it,” said Walden Fire Department Chief Frederick Williams.
Firefighters said the roof of the building, which housed apartments and a restaurant, collapsed while firefighters worked to put the fire out. It’s something that left neighbors like Diane Muenster concerned.
“You look up there and you’re looking through the apartments and now you see a sky, you don’t see a ceiling anymore.”
It took about 100 firefighters to put the fire out in about 45 minutes. Walden's Fire Chief said they were faced with a number of challenges.
“It’s an older building, it was built in 1898 and there’s lath and plaster, it’s a lot harder to get through than sheet rock,” said Williams.
Officials say the firefighter suffered a cardiac episode and collapsed. They say that while his vitals are normal and he is listed in stable condition, he remains in a medically induced coma. Two other fighters suffered minor injuries.
Those who lived in the building were helped by the Red Cross, and were put up in a local motel for the time being.
And while those residents may not have their apartments at the moment, Diane Muenster said she’s grateful everyone is alive.
"How bad it was, that was bad. And everyone got out, everyone understood each other and got out of the building safely."