A 14-year-old Pomeranian named Tucker was rescued Monday morning, Aug. 11, as firefighters responded to a house fire at 40972 Hwy. 228, the Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District reported.
SHFAD personnel responded at 8:34 a.m. to the reports from multiple callers that the garage and home were fully involved. The incident commander arrived within five minutes and immediately requested a second alarm assignment.
SHFAD did not name the owners, but county records list the property owner as Scott Heinz.
Firefighters faced challenges due to inadequate water supply and shortage of immediately available resources, SHFAD reported. The home was in an non-hydrated area, requiring water tenders to shuttle water in.
Upon establishment of water supply and adequate resources, firefighters conducted a primary search and rescued Tucker.
Ultimately, crews were forced to transition to a defensive mode of fire attack due to the fire conditions and the deteriorating structural integrity of the home. Firefighters were at the scene for several hours.
No civilians were injured; one firefighter was taken to Urgent Care for evaluation of possible heat-related illness resulting from the fire.
A total of 32 firefighters and 12 apparatus responded to the fire, including crews from our mutual aid partners from Lebanon Fire District, Mohawk Valley Fire District, Albany Fire Department, and Brownsville Rural Fire District.
The cause of the fire was still under investigation late Monday.