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Crisis averted, barn fire thwarted, thanks to volunteers

CORNWALL — An emergency dispatch that came in about 4:45 p.m. on Sunday was quickly determined to be a false alarm. But dedicated fire department volunteers, some who were not even in town, headed to the Cornwall Bridge Firehouse, just in case.

Meanwhile, on Warren Hill Road (Route 45), Susan Saccardi was cleaning her back deck, something she did on an impulse that afternoon. She smelled wood smoke from the neighbor’s; not unusual as they often used a woodburning stove.

“I glanced over and saw smoke coming not from the chimney but from around the edges of a small barn on the property.�

That’s when she sent her son, Brian, who is 14 years old and a Cornwall Junior Fire Department member, to run to Lee Ann McCarthy’s residence at 108 Warren Hill Road and let her know she might have a problem.

“I was getting nervous because by that time, I realized we wouldn’t be overreacting by calling 911,� Saccardi said. “I went over and she was getting a key to open the barn. Brian and I could hear crackling. She said there was no one in there. I said there was no way we were opening the door. We just needed to call for help.�

That second 911 call, minutes after the false alarm, dispatched Cornwall, Warren and Kent fire departments.

Saccardi said Rescue Chief Skip Kosciusko told her 10 more minutes and the barn would have been destroyed.

“If they hadn’t already been at the fire house, if they weren’t the kind of people who respond even to false alarms, the barn would be gone,� she said.

Susan and Stephen Saccardi and their four children moved to Cornwall from Long Island last July. It was a quality-of-life change, as Susan describes it. Stephen is an electrician with his own business. His wife said he worked 100 hours a week and the family never saw him. The economy of living in Cornwall has allowed him free time again.

Brian was the first to volunteer as a firefighter. His dad, Stephen, soon followed suit. He also volunteers as a baseball coach.

Susan Saccardi laughs at the irony of the hours her husband now spends away from them in firefighter training.

“But it’s OK. He’s happy. Everyone in our family volunteers. This is the life we moved here for.�

Lakeville Journal

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