PHOTOS: Massive Peekskill Fire Devastates Historic Building

While most of us were sleeping peacefully last night, nearly ten fire departments descending on Peekskill, NY to battle a massive blaze on the roof of a historic downtown building.

Fire Response in Peekskill, NY

Photos helped capture the size of the blaze that sent sparks and smoke high into the air. From the Croton-on-Hudson Fire Department:

Just before 1:00 AM on Tuesday, the City of Peekskill FD was dispatched to a building fire in the area of Highland & Constant Avenues. Units were met with a century-old commercial building with heavy fire from the roof and struck out the First Alarm, bringing our FASTeam to the scene.

F.A.S.T. stands for Firefighter Assist Safety Team, a unit specifically designated to help search for firefighters in distress during a response. Because of the potential severity of the fire (for instance the possibility of a roof collapse), multiple FAST units were used in case an emergency occurred while they battled the blaze.

Battling the Blaze

It took nearly four hours to finally extinguish the flames, and multiple agencies joined the Peekskill Fire Department in response, including Montrose Fire Department, Mohegan Fire Department, Continental Village Fire Department, and Millwood Fire Department, amongst others.

Ladder Truck in Action

As the pictures show, it took many resources (and many angles) to fight the fire. Not only were firefighters working on the ground both outside and inside the building, but the ladder truck looked to be stretched towards its maximum potential reach as it sprayed water from high in the air. Many residents expressed their sincere gratitude to the first responders who showed up in the middle of the night.

Thanks to the Firefighters

"FASTeam is a great asset!" applauded one commenter. Another Peekskill resident recognized the real estate, saying "that grocery store was a deli back in my day. we would go there for drinks and popsicles!!" There was no report on what may have potentially caused the fire.

Hudson Valley First Responders

Hudson Valley first responders stay busy! Check out the miraculous rescues of some adorable animals below. Just wait until you see the look on the puppy's face when it's finally rescued from a deep crevasse in Minnewaska State Park, and keep scrolling to see the rescue of a HORSE from a residential pool.