Local Firefighters Helped Battle Post Road Blaze

Scarsdale firefighters helped take control of the unwieldy blaze on Wednesday that swept up a block of East Post Road and left nearly nothing behind to be recovered in the aftermath.

We'd like to thank and recognize the supportive work of our local firefighters, who provided critical mutual aid assistance to White Plains during the large Bengal Tiger fire at 140 E. Post Road which began at 2:30 p.m. on July 7.

The countywide dispatch system had requested a ladder truck from Scarsdale shortly after 3 p.m., and according to Fire Chief Thomas Cain, we sent off a crew of three career firefighters and one career captain. 

From Chief Cain:

"Less than five minutes after their arrival, they were redirected to the fire scene, and wound up playing a crucial role in the suppression effort.

Scarsdale's newest ladder truck, Ladder 28, was placed directly in front of the Bengal Tiger restaurant and its high volume ladder pipe (elevated water cannon) was put into operation immediately." 

The ladder doused the fire with an estimated 180,000 gallons of water  and our village firefighters assisted in moving a 2.5-inch diameter hose line to the north corner of the block, where they sweated out several hours fighting the fire by hand.

In White Plains, 27 people were treated with injuries related to that fire; 25 of them were firefighters. None of Scarsdale's team sustained injuries. (Most of the others were minor and heat-related, according to White Plains Fire Chief Richard Lyman.)

In White Plains the temperature shot beyond 94 degrees at that point in the day, and conditions are even harsher and more dangerous for firefighters wearing 150-plus pounds of equipment.

"Scarsdale's crew faced 100-degree heat and brutal conditions, yet persevered in the face of adversity, not standing down or requesting relief until the fire was declared under control and Scarsdale was released from the scene," noted Cain in an e-mail to Village Trustees.

Volunteer firefighters provided helpful assistance with a turnout of manpower in force, covering Station 3 in Scarsdale until many of the off-duty career staffers could be called in to restore the village's normal staffing levels. They could not be reached to provide more detail by press time. The firefighters stayed in White Plains on duty until 9 p.m. when the fire was fully extinguished.

In addition to the White Plains blaze, the village fielded roughly 24 calls that day, said Cain, in a July 8 report to the village, and he urged caution in dealing with the dry, hot conditions that exacerbated the fire on Wednesday.