RISE Starts Fundraising Campaign To Rebuild After Fire

PEARL RIVER, NY — The Rockland Indoor Shooting gun range is seeking community help to rebuild after a stubborn and difficult fire destroyed businesses and injured firefighters on Sunday.

In addition to the fire, firefighters immediately encountered heavy smoke in the basement, which then spread throughout the complex at 120 N. Middletown Road. Westchester County's technical rescue team was called with jackhammers to reach the fire which was spreading in the voids between the floors in the buildings.

More than 100 firefighters came from across the region to assist the Pearl River Fire Department including Hillcrest, Monsey, Nanuet, New City, Nyack, Orangeburg, Piermont, Sparkill, S. Spring Valley, Suffern, Tallman, Tappan, Thiells, West Haverstraw, West Nyack and northern New Jersey.

Arson and criminal investigation teams from the Rockland County Sheriff's Department were called in.

Rockland Indoor Shooting, the gun range where the fire started, was completely destroyed.

RISE manager Irene Vignola created a GoFundMe page to seek help to rebuild.

"We started this range as a Mom and Pop gun range that grew into a community landmark because of the people who have supported us and spread word about the kind of positive environment we have tried to cater to everyone who comes into our range," the organizers said on GoFundMe. "This loss is devastating. The fire took everything that our staff and ourselves all worked so hard together to build."

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