On January 7, 2025, at 7:14 PM the Kinderhook Fire Department with the Kinderhook Task Force was dispatched for a reported structure fire at 5 Sunset Avenue at Samascotts Orchard. Kinderhook Fire Department, Valatie Fire Department, Niverville Fire Department, Chatham Fire Department, and Claverack Fire Department with the fast team was immediately dispatched to the scene. Kinderhook car 1 immediately requested the Stuyvesant Fire Department to the scene as the chief reported as he was responding to the scene he had a working structure fire. The chief arrived on scene with a extremely heavy fire condition in a 225-foot-long building by 100 feet wide commercial structure fire. Command requested Stockport Fire Department, West Ghent Fire Department for a tanker, Stottville Fire Department for their truck company, North Chatham Fire Department for a tanker to the scene and the Valatie Rescue Squad to the scene. Command notified the dispatcher that he just had multiple large explosions from the building sending hot embers into the night sky.

Firefighters arrived on scene and immediately deployed an inch and three-quarter hand line and attempted to make an aggressive quick interior attack to try to knock down the heavy fire but was quickly pushed back out of the building. Firefighters began to deploy multiple additional hand lines and 2 1/2-inch hand lines from their rigs. with winds pushing around 45 mph a significant amount of embers were being lifted up and landing in nearby neighborhood sparking numerous 911 calls to the dispatcher. Valatie and Stottville Fire Department’s truck and ladder company quickly arrived on scene and began to set up around the structure. Firefighters on their way into the scene secured a fire hydrant at the end of the street and began to lay in a significant amount of large diameter hose to the scene. As firefighters were doing so another tanker inbound into the scene continue to drop the rest of their hose bed into the scene to complete the tanker relay to supply both truck companies on scene. As firefighters from mutual aid companies arrived on scene in the rear of the structure, they placed themselves between the greenhouse and the heavily involved barn fire.

As firefighters were responding to the scene the chief began to redirect firefighters to check on houses where hot embers were beginning to land on the roof as he did not need additional structure fires around the main fire building. With wind starting to go upward of 60 miles an hour from the south it caused a fire to quickly intensify on scene and rapidly spread throughout the structure sending a massive amount of heavy fire into the night sky lighting up everything around it. As the building was raging on the south side of the building Stuyvesant and Niverville firefighters took up a position in the rear of the structure protecting the greenhouses to prevent fire from spreading from the main fire building to the greenhouses that supplies flowers to Samascotts store. Firefighters on scene began to experience water problems as they did not have enough water supply on scene to be able to quickly extinguish the fire. Firefighters on scene began to lay in through a neighbor's yard and along the bike trail. As firefighters were doing so they cut through the fences near the walkway into the farm. Firefighters had to lay over 1000 feet of large diameter hose to supply the apparatus in the rear in the building. Additional concerns were being addressed by additional fire departments coming into the scene as firefighters had a heavy fire storm on scene sending hot emperors in every direction and command feared they would have additional fires throughout the village. As the fire raged heavy fire blew throughout the front of the structure and firefighters turned the hoses onto the apparatus to begin to cool down paint and the ladder of the engine company as the rigs began to smoke.

Firefighters in the rear of the building taken up defensive operations began to have significant problems as a large propane tank and ammonia tank caught fire sending firefighters back away from the incident as the propane tank began to violently off gas sending a thirty-foot fire tornado into the night sky. As firefighters began to get away from the propane tank on fire a massive stack of apple crates caught fire sending heavy fire over 110 feet in the air blocking out Stottville’s truck company on scene. Firefighters in the rear of the building began to attempt to make a push into the building to attempt to knock down the heavy fire condition as they were doing so the heavy wind that was feeding the fire quickly blacked out the scene with thick heavy smoke and a significant amount of embers flying throughout the fire scene. Some of the farmers began to move the apple crates away from the building as they had a significant risk of catching fire.

Command requested Stuyvesant Falls to the scene along with Schodack Landing Fire Department to standby at the Stuyvesant Fire Department as they had all of their apparatus respond to the scene with a significant amount of manpower. Firefighters in the rear of the building began to make progress in darkening down the heavy fire condition. The truck companies in the front and side of the building continued to utilize master stream operations for an extended period of time in an attempt to bring the incident under control. Additional firefighters in the front of the building deployed inch and three-quarter hand lines and began to knock down a significant amount of the fire condition in the front of the building. Firefighters on scene had to remain vigilant as the winds that were feeding the fire would quickly pick back up and cause a significant amount of embers to spread across the fire grounds along with pieces of the building to break off and become flying projectiles on scene. As firefighters were spraying the water on scene firefighters would get hit with the mist from the hand lines and master streams and the water would freeze to the firefighters adding to the challenges on scene.

Firefighters in the rear of the building that placed their apparatus between the greenhouses and the main barn were able to successfully stop the fire from spreading to the greenhouses. Firefighters on the bravo side of the structure was able to contain the fire to the main structure and prevent it from spreading to any of the nearby buildings. Firefighters remained on scene until the early hours of the morning battling the fire and hitting hotspots and overhauling. Firefighters on scene had an extensive amount of equipment to pick up. Firefighters did not go back in service until the early hours of the next morning. The building was deemed a total loss. Fire investigators from Columbia County requested New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control to the scene to assist with the fire scene. No injuries were reported. Firefighters went back into service into the early hours of the next morning and were exhausted. The cause of the fire is under investigation at this time and no cause has been released to the public.