Saturday afternoon fire destroys Pennings home

Four minutes was all it took for a Saturday afternoon fire to engulf the home of Nancy and Richard Pennings, Second Assistant Chief of the Warwick Fire Department Michael Contaxis said.
According to Contaxis, the call came in about a structure fire at 56 Warwick Turnpike at 4:46 p.m. Saturday afternoon, and the department arrived at the home within four minutes.
“While in route, I saw the pillar of smoke going up above Warwick Turnpike and I activated our second alarm to call all available manpower,” he said.
Flames were rising through the roof, Contaxis said, and the four occupants of the home had safely retreated from the area by the time they arrived at the scene.
No injuries to either the home’s occupants or firefighters occurred, Contaxis said.
The family’s dogs were safely evacuated from the blaze through the garage and did not require medical attention.
Warwick Fire Department is equipped with pet oxygen masks and would have been able to render aid if necessary, Contaxis said.
“We have oxygen in our cars and we have the kits on all our engines and our rescue trucks,” he said. “We have successfully saved pets in the past by using our masks.”
Coming up the hill from down by the Pennings’ farm market and cidery, the wind caused the fire to spread rapidly through the structure.
“I was surprised by how fast (it spread),” Contaxis said. “It didn’t leave much room for us to do an offensive attack on it.”
Older homes tend to fare better than newer ones do in a fire, Contaxis said, because of the way they were built.
“Due to what homes are made of today, OSB (oriented strand) board, glue, it’s all pieced together,” he said. “It’s not like it used to be.”
The home was a 2,628-square-foot structure built in 2001, according to real estate website Realtor.com.
According to Contaxis, the family was at the swimming pool when they noticed smoke coming from the attic area of the home and called 911.
Warwick Fire Department Chief Phil Cialella said that the cause of the fire is unknown at this time.
Cialella said that the Orange County Fire Investigation Unit is working to determine how the fire started.
Firefighters were able to save the garage where a classic car was stored, Contaxis said.
In addition to Warwick, Chester, Florida, Pine Island, Greenwood Lake and Slate Hill in New York State responded, as well as Upper Greenwood Lake, West Milford and Vernon, in New Jersey, according to Contaxis.
“(Warwick’s) Engine Company 3 also broke apart the fence and they used the 20,000 gallons in the in-ground swimming pool to put it out,” Contaxis said.
In total, 40 to 50 firefighters worked to put out the fire, and were on scene until 12:30 a.m., Contaxis said.
The family is reportedly staying with relatives and a GoFundMe page has been set up to help with expenses as they rebuild. As of press time, $19,460 of a $25,000 goal had been raised by 189 people in four days.
Attempts to reach the family were unsuccessful as of press time.
“It was just insurmountable odds, with the wind and what we had and how quickly it went,” Contaxis said.