PAWLING – In the wake of Sunday’s Pawling fire that leveled a CVS pharmacy, a top company official said in the interim, may fill prescriptions at any nearby CVS Pharmacy including those in Brewster, Carmel, Dover Plains or Mahopac.
CVS Executive Director Amy Thibault added that “home delivery fees were being waived for eligible prescriptions for the time being, as we work to get a temporary pharmacy stood up in the village.”
Pawling Fire Chief Everett White described Sunday’s inferno that destroyed the C.V.S. Pharmacy on East Main Street and a nearby yoga studio as the most difficult blaze he fought during his 22 years as chief.
The blaze caused by an electrical problem resulting from strong winds which knocked down utility poles, transformers and wires quickly spread since the chief said the former drug store was located in an old building containing many alterations as well as trouble by responding crews to reach the scene since roads were blocked by fallen electrical equipment.
When arriving on the scene, White found several people inside the building and after evacuating them and realizing the size of the inferno, he called for mutual aid from eastern Putnam, southern Dutchess, and western Farfield counties.
Within minutes, crews began attacking the fire with 15 tankers from 13 departments. White told Mid-Hudson-News Monday that “at one point more than 50 firefighters were battling the inferno from two separate sides with the assistance of two ladder trucks.”
White described the work between his department and its neighbors from the tri-county area as “simply amazing. The efforts of our friends from Putnam, Dutchess and Fairfield were heroic. Nothing is worth a firefighter’s life. We had men operating on the roof with zero visibility. It was a challenge. Thank God no one was injured.”
Meanwhile, Pawling Supervisor Cathy Giordano thanked firefighters who battled the blaze while also responding to many storm-related emergencies throughout the night.
She called the pharmacy an “asset to the community and hopefully it won’t be long until there is a new building there to serve us.”
She also reported working with county and state officials including County Executive Sue Serino – in addition to the property’s owner to find a temporary location where residents can obtain medications while the pharmacy stays closed.
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