Fire guts Matamoras home

Family homeless after Tuesday fire, By Sharon E. Siegel and Alicia Lopez WESTFALL — A mom and two children were displaced and a large portion of their home destroyed by a Tuesday afternoon fire. The blaze was called in to Pike’s Communications Center at 4:56 p.m., by residents of the home. They all got out safely. According to family members, the two teenage daughters of resident Lisa Rivera came home after school at 1033 Pennsylvania Avenue in Matamoras. They heard a knock at the door and were told to “leave the house because the garage was smoking and on fire”. The girls left the house unharmed. Westfall Fire Chief William Koferl said firefighters were on the scene within six minutes of the call, had it under control within 10 minutes and extinguished within 20 minutes. Despite their quick response, the two-story frame home received extensive damage and the garage was totally destroyed. “The fire started in the garage and went to the second floor of the home,” said Koferl. The garage was destroyed, and approximately 50% of the house sustained damage. Most of this damage was on the upper floor,” he said. Matamoras, Mill Rift, and Milford units were on the scene, along with New York firefighters from Port Jervis and Sparrowbush volunteers, while Huguenot and Greenville remained on standby. Koferl said computer automated dispatch (CAD) initiated by the chief quickly brought firefighters from multiple agencies to what was elevated to a second alarm fire and then quickly contained. Relief efforts for the family were said to be underway through the Salvation Army in Port Jervis, but the Courier could not confirm this at press time.