MORRISONVILLE — Mark Kiroy was cooking steaks on the grill in his enclosed garage Wednesday night, just three months after a fire destroyed his kitchen.
It had become customary to cook on the grill, as the family of four awaited kitchen appliances that were due to arrive today.
"I'd just put the steaks on the counter and sat down with the kids when someone knocked on my door," Kiroy said.
Gerald Clausen burst into his house.
"I just opened the door and yelled, 'Your house is on fire! You have to get out,'" he said.
Together Kiroy and Clausen got the three kids — ages 11, 7 and 3 — out of the 1980 Route 22B home and onto the front lawn.
"As soon as we got out, the upstairs windows exploded and blew right over us," Clausen said.
Kiroy's three sons were out of the house, some of them without shoes.
The house burned quickly with high winds fueling the flames.
Clausen, who lives in Champlain, had been driving down Route 22B toward Plattsburgh when he saw flames climbing the back of the Kiroy home around 7 p.m.
"It's an enclosed garage, you know three sides and a door," said Kiroy. "I always leave it open for the smoke to get out."
He didn't even know the house was on fire until Clausen barged in.
"I thought it was smoke from the grill," Kiroy said. "I went around the back, and then I saw it."
Within minutes, the upstairs of the home was fully engulfed, and emergency responders from Morrisonville, Cadyville, South Plattsburgh and Peru volunteer fire departments had begun arriving.
The home was at the base of Rand Hill Road, directly by the bridge. State Police closed the road, as well as Route 22B in both directions.
With strong winds, visibility was diminished for miles. The house couldn't even be seen from an apartment across the street.
"The wind is going so strong. It's not going to stop," said neighbor Kellen Clukey.
"I thought it was a car on the street overheating."
Other neighbors described it as a fog until they noticed the pungent odor.
"That really burned quick," Clukey said.
Fire was exposed on the right side of the building within minutes. By 7:49 p.m., the back end of the house, where the attached garage had once stood, was fully engulfed through to the upstairs bedrooms.
New siding was melting and peeling off the outside of the building.
Persistent flames continued in the chimney and in between floors and walls.
Firefighters attacked the blaze from four directions, but as soon as they would move to a new spot, the wind would rekindle the once-defeated flames.
Meanwhile, Kiroy's wife, Heather, was called at work by their oldest son.
"He was so calm, so I didn't believe him," she said. "We lost everything. Nothing is going to be saved. My kids even came out without shoes on. They wanted to go back in and get them."
They didn't save anything, including the family's pet bird and fish.
"My grandmother's china won't ever be replaced," Mr. Kiroy said.
"Your mom," added Mrs. Kiroy.
"Yeah, my mom," he said, rolling his eyes.
"No. Your mom," she repeated quietly.
He paused.
"My mom's ashes are in there."
The family has insurance and will be staying with Mrs. Kiroy's parents, who live just down the street.
"I just glad that everyone is safe," she said. "I'm glad he (Clausen) stopped."
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Michael Betts
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