Thiells, NY – A massive fire tore through a long-abandoned municipal building in Letchworth Village late yesterday evening, sending plumes of smoke into the summer sky and drawing a large-scale mutual aid response from across Rockland County.
Calls for the blaze came in at 9:12 p.m. on Saturday, August 9, with firefighters arriving to find heavy flames punching through the roof of a two-story structure on East Stewart Circle. The building, part of the sprawling former psychiatric facility shuttered since the mid-1990s, has been vacant for decades and is notorious for its hazardous interior conditions.
Recognizing the dangers of missing floors and structural decay, Thiells Fire Department (26-Command) immediately ordered a defensive operation, keeping firefighters outside and attacking the inferno with high-volume water streams.
Many apparatus were also part of the containment effort. Ladder 26-99 was positioned on the front side of the building – and began master stream operations, while 26-Tanker deployed 700 feet of supply hose and a 2½-inch pre-connected line. With no hydrants in the area, a water shuttle was quickly established.
The effort and coordination from departments in both Rockland and Orange Counties were notable.
Tankers from Stony Point Fire Department (Wayne Hose #1) and neighboring Fort Montgomery Fire Department (in Orange County, north of the Bear Mountain Bridge) joined the effort, setting up a fold-a-tank operation to feed the fight.
Engines from Hillcrest, New City, Suffern, West Haverstraw, Spring Valley, and Monsey cycled through the scene to keep water flowing. Meanwhile, Haverstraw FD provided coverage at the Thiells firehouse during the operation.
Fire crews battled the flames for roughly three hours before finally bringing the situation under control shortly after midnight. One firefighter was transported to a local hospital for treatment of heat exhaustion, but is expected to recover.
Authorities have turned the scene over to the Rockland County Sheriff’s Arson Investigations Unit to determine the cause.
In a statement, Thiells Fire Department officials expressed gratitude to all mutual aid companies, EMS agencies, the Haverstraw Police Department, Monsey’s RAC unit, fire coordinators, and their own Ladies Auxiliary for support throughout the night.
The charred shell of the building remains standing this afternoon, a stark reminder of Letchworth Village’s long and troubled history — and of the dangers firefighters face when combating fires in decaying structures.
