By Fred Stabbert III
CALLICOON CENTER – The call went out at 5:23 a.m. Friday that there was a working structure fire at 63 Hust Rd.
Eleven minutes later the Callicoon Center Fire Dept. was on the scene, helping to get the blaze under control.
“In 15 minutes we had the fire suppressed,” Callicoon Center Fire Chief Gary Brockner said. “It appeared to start from an electrical problem with the hot water heater.
“Thank God… it could have been a lot worse,” Brockner added. “Everybody got out and there were no injuries [to firemen at the scene].”
The residents at 63 Hust Rd., Rob and Veronica Donnelly and their two school-aged children, got out of the house with no problem, New York State Police Investigator Mike Orrego said.
But 46-year-old Mark Silodor, whose mobile trailer was on the property, attempted to move it away from the fire, police said.
It is unclear which trailer Silodor – known to friends as “Tattoo Mark” – may have been living in.
Silodor apparently collapsed and was administered CPR by firemen at the scene, police said.
“He regained consciousness and was transported by EMS to Catskill Regional Medical Center,” Orrego said. “He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
“It appears he died from medical reasons, something with the heart, possibly a heart attack from the anxiety,” Orrego said.
Chief Brockner said firemen from Callicoon Center, North Branch and Jeffersonville responded to the blaze, with 37 firemen on the scene.
Tankers were used for water as only a small brook crosses the property.
The family, whose children attend Sullivan West, are now staying with relatives in Pennsylvania.