"For sale: Nevele Grand Resort. A fixer-upper, slightly singed."

That may be the new copy for Eastern Consolidated's advertisements in their attempts to sell the Nevele Grand Resort. The resort's pool building's roof caught fire on Wednesday, April 30 at about 10:30 a.m. The flare-up was a small but potentially disastrous blaze which was caused, according to Ellenville's Acting Fire Chief George Budd, by maintenance workers attempting to repair the roof. The workers were using a technique which involves the use of a blowtorch in order to melt rubber and tar together.

Acting Fire Chief George Budd (left) is on the scene.

According to Budd, the workers were not doing anything illegal or worthy of a citation or ticket.

"It just got a little hotter than it should've, that's all," says Budd. "It was accidental." The hotel's maintenance workers also helped the firefighters extinguish the flames more effectively because of their assistance in keeping the doors to the building closed, thereby helping to keep the fire from spreading to other buildings on the resort's campus.

Budd describes that the fire had the potential to get out of control, especially considering the time of day during which it occurred. Because firefighters are volunteers, most, if not all of them, are usually working their day-jobs during this time, and as such, Budd is quite pleased with the high turnout he saw.

"The number of guys we're getting is awesome," says Budd enthusiastically. "Everybody has to work, but [they are] still doing their part for the last month and a half," he says, referring to his estimate of fifty or so calls to extinguish brush fires throughout the area, including the weeks-long fire drama at Minnewaska State Park.

Within the first half-hour to forty-five minutes, Budd says, the firefighters who arrived on the scene worked hard and got the fire under control quickly, a difficult task considering the type of roof on the pool building. The structure has what is known as a "cockloft" roof, which is similar to an attic in that it is an open space between the building's ceiling and roof, an architectural feature which created a challenge in terms of access which the firefighters were able to quickly overcome to extinguish the flames.

"There was some interior and exterior damage to the ceiling, and we had to cut out a big part of the roof," says Budd of the fire's effects on the building, and the means by which the firefighters were able to extinguish the fire. All told, Budd says that they spent a total of four hours at the site to ensure that everything was under control, and that no other flare-ups could occur.

Including Ellenville, a total of six fire companies arrived at the scene: Cragsmoor, Napanoch, Kerhonkson, Accord, and Walker Valley. Like in previously reported fires around the area, Budd is thankful for all the support the region's fire companies have been giving to each other in what is shaping up to be a highly flammable time of year.

"The guys are working hard, but they're not getting lax on any part of the job when that whistle goes off," says Budd. "A job well done by the guys again."

COMMENTS about this article (2)