TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE – A fire at the former Hudson River Psychiatric Center in the Town of Poughkeepsie broke out Wednesday morning and soon evolved into a raging inferno that engulfed three buildings. The Fairview Fire Department arrived at the sprawling complex that has been closed since 2012 shortly after 11 a.m. and found fire in two buildings before it rapidly spread to a third structure. Many of the buildings date back to the mid to late 1800s and are considered by first responders to be “tinder boxes”.
Fairview summoned assistance from the Poughkeepsie and Arlington Fire Departments, and the list of departments quickly grew to include manpower and equipment from New Hackensack, New Hamburg, Millbrook, Roosevelt, Hyde Park, Pleasant Valley, East Fishkill, and Highland.
Dutchess County Emergency Response Commissioner William Beale and several representatives from his department were at the scene providing assistance.
Due to a lack of hydrants in the area, fire engines were hooking up to water supplies on Violet Avenue and at the rear of the Shop Rite Supermarket to pump water up to the ladder trucks set up in front of the flames.
Onlookers were creating traffic delays in and around the area, with cars stopped all along the side of the road while people were using cell phones to take pictures and videos.
One firefighter sustained a heat-related injury and was treated at the scene by EMS early in the fire.
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