Pair seriously burned in Quaker Springs fire

PHOTOGRAPHER: Justin Mason

Firefighters battled a pre-dawn blaze at an older-model mobile home that left a man and woman with serious burns this morning.

Quaker Springs First Assistant Fire Chief Sean Dooley said the residents of the burned home at 289 Hayes Road were able to escape on their own, but suffered grave burns in the process. Both were initially taken to Saratoga Hospital, where they were then airlifted to the Westchester Medical Center.

By the time crews arrived around 4:30 a.m., the home was engulfed in flames. Dooley said a fellow firefighter living next door to the home awoke to see fire pouring from every corner of the structure.

“When we got the original call, it was already fully involved,” he said.

Investigators from the Saratoga County Fire Coordinator’s office are now probing the cause. Dooley said the fire appeared to originate near a pellet stove.

Firefighters from Schuylerville, Victory Mills and Arvin Hart assisted at the scene, but the home was a total loss. Dooley believes two dogs may have perished in the fire.

Crews also battled near-arctic conditions while responding to the fire. Overnight lows in nearby Glens Falls dipped down to -24 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Albany.

“It was pretty brutal,” Dooley confessed. “But we kept the water flowing, kept rotating the guys and kept hot coffee on hand.”