Wood stove fire destroys Sparrow Bush home, sparks mountainside brush blaze

A wood stove fire tore through a home along State Route 97 in Sparrow Bush and spread into brush on a nearby Orange County mountainside, forcing firefighters from at least 10 departments to battle the blaze for hours.

Flames burned through the house before moving into the surrounding terrain, turning the call into a structure fire and a fast-moving brush fire at the same time. Fire crews were called to the scene in Sparrow Bush and quickly faced worsening conditions as the fire pushed beyond the home and into the wooded slope.

A separate dispatch-style report said the fire was first reported around 10 p.m. Tuesday night, and Port Jervis Squad 1 was requested on the first alarm assignment. That account said interior crews were forced out as conditions deteriorated, and Port Jervis Squad 1 remained on scene until about 1 a.m.

The fire destroyed the home and left emergency responders working to keep the flames from spreading farther into the brush. News 12 reported that the blaze moved up the nearby mountainside and that firefighters spent hours bringing it under control. Video from the scene showed the scale of the response as crews worked through the night.

The Orange County Division of Fire Services helps coordinate mutual aid across the county, a system that allows departments to be pulled in quickly when a fire spreads beyond a single agency’s resources. In this case, that mutual aid response brought together enough firefighters to contain a blaze that started inside a house and then jumped into surrounding land.

The incident came during a period of elevated spring brush-fire danger in New York, where dry and windy conditions have raised the risk of fast-moving fires. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation says fire danger ratings are displayed on a statewide map that tracks conditions from low to extreme, a reminder that once flames escape a structure, nearby brush and hillsides can help carry them fast.

No information on injuries or the full extent of the damage had been released in the initial reports.