A hot yoga class ends with an EMS building burning. Pictures from Sparta, NJ.
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Photos by George Schick.
Story by Rob Jennings at DailyRecord.com:
Up to 20 people, including a yoga class, were inside the Sparta Ambulance Squad building on Monday evening when a fast-moving fire engulfed the service bay area.
Everyone escaped safely but two of the squad’s three ambulances were completely destroyed and a Dodge Durango first responder vehicle was damaged, authorities said.
The third ambulance was unscathed because it was out on a call when the fire was reported at 6:10 p.m. according to Mary Hookway, an 18-year volunteer.
The upper portion of the building sustained water and smoke damage.
Hookway said a squad member who was inside when the fire broke out raced over to an adjoining room where the yoga class was being held.
“He told everyone to get out,” she said.
Sparta police said today that their preliminary investigation showed that the fire started onboard one of the ambulances as an oxygen tank was being checked for pressure. There was lightning in the area around that time, prompting initial speculation that the stormy weather played a role, but authorities did not indicate any connection.
Hookway, the ambulance squad’s public information officer, was standing outside the charred building at 10 a.m. today with other onlookers as investigators surveyed the damage.
She said that town officials are meeting today to ensure continued ambulance service, with mutual aid anticipated from neighboring Ogdensburg and elsewhere. She estimated that each of the destroyed ambulances, both insured and owned by the town, could cost up to $200,000 to replace.
The service bay area, an addition to the 36-year-old building at 14 Sparta Ave., was built in 1993. The ambulance squad, founded in 1947, has approximately 60 volunteers and owns the building.
