By Jeanne Sager
LIBERTY — April 2, 2002 – The cause of a fire that consumed a Liberty home on Thursday is still up in the air.
Liberty, Livingston Manor and White Sulphur Springs volunteer firefighters all responded to the blaze on Oak Street in the village Thursday morning around 9:30 a.m. (Village of Liberty Police also responded, and members of the Loch Sheldrake Volunteer Fire Department were on standby.)
But despite their hard work, the home was destroyed. Of great concern to the firefighters was the building’s proximity to Liberty business Combined Energy Services, which has a number of propane tanks on its property.
The home was just 30 feet down the road from the business, but the emergency workers were able to contain the blaze and avert any further incidents.
Six of the home’s 12 residents were hurt in the blaze. Four were transported to the Catskill Regional Medical Center by ambulance and two more by private car for smoke inhalation.
All 12 residents are now homeless and received temporary food, clothing and shelter assistance from the Sullivan County Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Aid was requested for seven adults and five children, including three boys aged 15, 2, and 1 and two girls aged 5 and 4.
The fire is still under investigation by fire officials.