They’re supposed to be fighting blazes, not starting them — especially in their own firehouse.
Members of the Goldens Bridge Fire Department in Westchester accidentally ignited a 2014 fire that wiped out their headquarters, a Manhattan federal lawsuit says.
Their insurer filed the suit to force them to foot the bill for the damages to the tune of $9 million.
The firefighters had been tinkering with the department’s 1998 Chevy Suburban in a “reckless, negligent and careless manner” and parked it in the firehouse, where it sparked an electrical blaze, the Arch Insurance Co. claims in the suit.
The suit also notes that the all-volunteer department had left a self-closing fire door propped open, allowing the inferno to travel up a stairwell to the second floor.
“Had defendant executed due and proper care in the use, maintenance, operation and control of its vehicles, equipment and the fire station bays, the accident complained of would not have occurred,” Arch alleges.
No one was hurt in the blaze, which state police traced to “a faulty electrical connection” in a firetruck inside the firehouse.
The quaint, two-story brick firehouse, however, remains empty.
People associated with the department accused Arch of trying to wriggle out of its financial obligations. The suit names the department’s nonprofit, suggesting Arch wants that entity’s insurer to help cover the bill, sources said.
“My understanding is that they are trying to recover the money they already paid out through a subrogation claim,” said Goldens Bridge Fire Chief Ed Brancati.
He doubted the suit would bear fruit.
“It’s a volunteer fire department that has an insurance policy with a dollar limit,” he said. “I’m not going to say what it is, but you can’t get blood from a stone.”
In February, Arch agreed to pay out millions of dollars to the fire district to fix the firehouse, sources said. It is on track to open this spring, Brancati said.