Fire In Rooseveltown Results in Total Loss of Community Member's Home

By Isaac White.

An early morning fire on Alex Garrow Lane, Rooseveltown, raged last week and tragically destroyed an Akwesasne family's home. One community member, Minnie Garrow, who lives just two houses down the road spoke with Indian Time about the catastrophic blaze.

"A community member was coming from Racquette Point and saw flames. They tracked it down to our road and called the police and fire department," said Garrow.

When asked what she had witnessed Garrow described a situation that no one wants to face. "My granddaughter was knocking on my door, very upset and said the house was on fire."

The home belonging to Alex "Big Boy" Garrow III was fully involved when Minnie arrived at the home.

Minnie said, "The whole house was engulfed in flames; it was just all fire."

First responders were highly praised by Garrow for their quick response and attentiveness to the needs of an Akwesasronon family in an emergency.

"The police and fire department got there really quickly."

There were a large number of first responders and emergency equipment at the scene according to Garrow.

"There were so many fire trucks and police vehicles. They were doing everything they could, but the house was totally on fire," Garrow said.

According to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Chief Matt Rourke, responders included Hogansburg Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department, Bombay Fire Department, Massena Fire Department, Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police, and the Akwesasne Mohawk Ambulance.

The homeowners were not at the residence, and no one was injured, however, the family's two dogs were lost in the fire. Garrow indicated how thankful she and the family are for the valiant efforts of those on the scene. "We're all so appreciative of the first responders for everything they did, all the work they did to help. They did so much because they kept the fire from spreading to any of the other houses on the road and we're lucky for that."

Minnie said everyone was there until about noon making sure everything was safe and cleaning up as well. The hard work of those at the scene was something Garrow wanted to show her thanks for, so she brought coffee to the fire station.

Matt Rourke, Chief of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department spoke more about the situation, stating to Indian Time "First of all I just want to thank the first responders for - the Hogansburg Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department. That no one got hurt. We'll be looking into the investigation. Obviously, it's a fire but we're going to be waiting for cause and origin before we release any information. Knowing that the family was out of the area, we're going to wait for them to contact us and our investigators so there will be no comment for now about that. For now, we're just happy everyone was safe."

After several attempts were made, representatives of the HAVFD did not immediately respond to a request for comment. At the time of printing, HAVFD had not responded.