They’re used to fighting fires in other people’s homes, not their own.
A Westchester firehouse went up in smoke Monday, sending its chief — still dressed in gym shorts from a workout — and another volunteer firefighter scurrying for safety, officials said.
“It’s a little embarrassing that we had to call the Fire Department to help the Fire Department, but what can you do? When you need help, you need help,’’ shrugged Fire Commissioner Edward Brancati at the scene of the charred Goldens Bridge Firehouse.
The roaring blaze in the tiny hamlet, which lies about 40 miles north of Manhattan, erupted at around 9:20 a.m., sending flames and black plumes of smoke soaring into the air.
Officials blamed the inferno on a “faulty electrical connection” involving a firetruck that was parked inside the brick building.
“It was a little before 9 a.m., and I was working out on the treadmill upstairs,’’ Brancati recalled.
“I noticed smoke coming up through the vents near the window, so I talked to [the other volunteer also in the building] and told him there was a problem.”
Meanwhile, Brancati said, he went downstairs to check on the boiler and found no issues.
But “when I returned upstairs, there was a wall of smoke coming toward me,’’ he said, adding that the building’s hard-wired fire alarms started going off.
“I went to investigate the far end of the building, where there was an orange glow,” Brancati said.
“Before I could find the source of the fire, there was an explosion, and shattered glass went everywhere.
“I knew it was time to get out of there.
“By the time I got outside, I could see a huge fire exploding out of the top of the roof,’’ Brancati went on.
The other volunteer in the building at the time, firefighter and treasurer Mike Melillo, suffered smoke inhalation trying to get vehicles and equipment out of the building, officials said.
He was not seriously injured.
The flames gutted at least half the building, leaving a hole in its roof.
At least four firetrucks from neighboring departments rushed over to help, but officials did not say how long it took to bring the inferno under control.
The blaze also destroyed a $500,000 fire vehicle and two smaller vehicles, including one perhaps most dear to the volunteer department’s heart, a classic 1943 Willys Jeep.
“These guys love maintaining relics of the past,’’ noted Peter Parsons, town supervisor for Lewisboro, which includes Golden’s Bridge.
Parsons said that after learning that everyone was OK, he went up to Brancati, “and I said, ‘Hi, Ed, could I get you a pair of trousers?’ because he was in his gym shorts from working out.
“Then what I seriously said to him was, ‘Can I do anything to help?’ and he said, ‘We need somewhere to meet to sort everything out,’ ” Parsons said, adding that he immediately offered space in the town’s Recreation Department.
