Port Jervis Fire Department units, along with a mutual-aid department, responded just before 9:30 a.m. on July 23 to a fire in one of Port Jervis’ oldest structures.

An emergency call for the Farnum House, located at 21 Ulster Street, came from an alarm monitoring company after smoke was detected in the rear hallways of the first and second floors of the building. The fire was quickly extinguished, and an investigation determined that the fire was not caused by a faulty condition in the building but rather by fireworks launched nearby.

Past Chief Joe Kowal Sr., who was among the firefighters on scene, said someone reported that kids were shooting off fireworks near the property’s outdoor basketball courts. An investigation determined that the fireworks caused the Farnum House structure fire. Nearby residents also reported hearing what they initially believed was an explosion, which was later determined to have been the sound of fireworks.

While removing ventilation equipment from outside the building, Kowal said investigators determined that fireworks had struck the building, melted a large hole in the siding and ignited the wood underneath the outer layer of siding.

“It reached the wood frame, which was bone dry, and the bricks. But there was not enough air for it to keep burning,” Kowal said.

The Farnum House has a history dating back to the 1850s. It was constructed as a home for the Farnum family soon after the Village of Port Jervis was formed in 1853 and before Port Jervis became a city in 1907. The property was donated by the Farnum family to the city in 1936 and has served many municipal purposes since then.