On Sunday February 14th at 7:48pm, the City of Hudson Fire Department was dispatched by Columbia 911 to a possible structure fire at 33 Columbia Street in the city. There was a report of smoke coming from the residence.

1st Assistant Chief Shawn Hoffman arrived on scene and confirmed there was smoke coming from the residence. Shortly thereafter, he was able to confirm a working structure fire with fire visible on the 1st floor of the residence.

Under the direction of Anthony DeMarco Jr, Chief of the Department, crews began an aggressive interior attack on the fire. Engine 30-25 was assigned as the initial attack truck and stretched a handline to the front door. Simultaneously, the crew from Tower Ladder 32-55 laddered the roof to perform vertical ventilation while the crew from Engine 28-28 accessed the rear and assisted with searching the rear and operating a handline in the basement of the structure.

A female victim was located on the 1st floor of the residence and was immediately removed from the structure. Firefighters performed CPR while the Greenport Rescue Squad provided advanced life support. The patient was transported to Columbia Memorial Health where she unfortunately succumbed to her injuries. The fire department sends their thoughts and condolences to the family of the victim.

Interior crews were met with a heavy smoke condition, low visibility, and discovered a large hole in the floor as soon as they entered the front door. Interior crews had to limit the number of firefighters entering the structure due to the safety concerns of an unstable floor. The fire was quickly extinguished and contained to the 1st floor and basement ceiling.

The fire is still under investigation by the Hudson City Police Department with the assistance of the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control (State Fire) and the Columbia County Fire Coordinators Office. The cause of the fire has not been released yet.

The City of Hudson Fire Department was assisted on scene by the Greenport Fire Department, Catskill Fire Department and Claverack Fire Department. Stottville, Germantown, and the Stuyvesant Fire Department were requested to standby to cover additional calls.

Additionally, assistance was requested from the City of Hudson DPW and Code Enforcement office, as well as National Grid.