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Nov. 24--NEW LEBANON After alerting others of a fire early Wednesday at their secluded ranch-style home, a 30-year-old father of three didn't make it out of the intense blaze that destroyed the Columbia County house and left a family devastated.
Adam Crawley was found by rescue teams on the kitchen floor just inside the back door. He was taken by the Chatham Rescue Squad to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Mass., where he was pronounced dead, said State Police Senior Investigator Gary Mazzacano of the Livingston barracks.
"Adam woke up and he shouted" to others in the home at 1:30 a.m., Mazzacano said.
Tara Darcy, 28, Crawley's longtime companion and mother of their three children, and her brother, Andrew Darcy, 29, were the only others in the house. Tara Darcy went out a window of the wood-frame ranch and called 911 for help. The house is on a dirt road at 16 Lovers Lane, Mazzacano said.
Apparently, Crawley and Tara Darcy were in a bedroom, and Andrew Darcy was sleeping on the couch. Luckily, the three children, two boys and a girl, were at a sleepover at a neighbor's home, the investigator said. The children, whose names he withheld, are 7, 6 and 4, with the girl the youngest.
"They are traumatized," said Mazzacano, who was called to the fire at 3 a.m.
After calling 911, Tara Darcy found her brother outside but couldn't locate Crawley, who worked for Darcy's family's construction business.
Fire companies arrived within eight minutes and found the house fully in flames, Mazzacano said. The blaze started in an unoccupied bedroom, but how it started is under investigation. It took about an hour to get the blaze under control, he said.
The family had two dogs and five cats, some of which were outdoor cats. One dog escaped with burns and was taken to a veterinary clinic. The other dog died in the house. A cat was also found dead in the house, while a kitten was found outside alive and well. The other animals were unaccounted for by early afternoon.
It's not known, and will never be known, why Crawley didn't make it out, Mazzacano said.
It's possible he did get out and went back in to look for Tara or the pets, or he was trying to get the animals out and got trapped by the intense heat.
Lebanon Valley firefighter Aaron Sweet was also taken to Berkshire Medical Center, where he was treated for smoke inhalation and released, Mazzacano said.
He said the fire doesn't appear suspicious, but State Police investigators who report to Mazzacano, along with troopers from New Lebanon, the state Office of Fire Prevention and Control, Columbia County Fire Coordinator's Cause and Origin Team, and Lebanon Valley Fire Chief Ben Wheeler are investigating.
The house, on a private driveway back from the road and within sight of houses on Route 20, remained standing, but the fire melted everything and nothing is salvageable, Mazzacano said.
The survivors were issued emergency vouchers for clothing and other necessities, provided by the Columbia County Fire Chiefs' Association. The Red Cross was not contacted because the family will be staying with relatives.
Fighting the blaze were the four fire companies of the Lebanon Valley Task Force Lebanon Valley, Canaan, East Chatham and Red Rock. Tanker trucks from Tri-Village and the Rensselaer County companies of Stephentown and Tsatsawassa brought water to the scene.
Reach Carol DeMare at 454-5431 or [email protected].
