Newburgh firefighters contain basement fire in Powell Avenue building
Smoke detectors and residents spotted a basement fire at 379 Powell Ave. before it spread, and Newburgh crews knocked it down with no injuries in the 166-unit Chadwick Gardens complex.
Smoke detectors and residents’ quick notice of visible smoke helped Newburgh firefighters catch a basement fire early at 379 Powell Ave., Building A, limiting what could have become a far more serious apartment-building emergency. The fire was reported at about 5:32 p.m. on May 14, and crews reached the scene in Chadwick Gardens with no injuries reported.
Firefighters found flames in the basement laundry room and extinguished the visible fire after arriving. In a multi-unit building like Chadwick Gardens, where smoke and fire can move quickly through shared walls, hallways and utility spaces, that early warning made the difference between a contained incident and a wider evacuation. The building, a residential apartment complex built in 1965, has 166 units, which means even a fire that stays in one basement room can affect many tenants if it grows unchecked.
The immediate danger was brought under control before it spread beyond the laundry area, but the incident still carried the kind of disruption that basement fires can trigger in dense housing. Cleanup, inspections and follow-up safety checks can ripple through a large complex even after the flames are out, especially when the fire starts in a utility space serving dozens of apartments. The cause remained under investigation.
The response also pointed to the broader safety role of the City of Newburgh Fire Department, which is led by Fire Chief Paul Pullar. Along with the Bureau of Fire, the department includes the Bureau of Fire Prevention and the Bureau of Code Compliance, a structure that reflects how closely firefighting and building safety are tied together in older apartment complexes across the city.
At Chadwick Gardens, the age of the building and the number of units make early detection especially important. The May 14 fire showed how much can hinge on working smoke detectors, a fast call for help and crews getting to the source before a basement fire turns into a larger residential crisis.
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