The family of a volunteer firefighter who died while battling a blaze at a Saugerties home is suing the owner of the house for failing to maintain the woodstove the sparked the fire.
Mount Marion Fire Dept. Capt. Jack Henry Rose, 19, died on December 19, 2015 while fighting a fire at a home at 11 Fel Qui Road owned by Mary Alice Mark. According to investigators, the fire began in an interior wall and was caused by a wood-burning stove in the home’s living room.
According to media reports, an investigation by the state Department of Labor determined that Rose died after he became separated from fellow members of a hose line while knocking down a fire in the basement. The investigation determined that at the time of his death, Rose was using a breathing apparatus he took from a Centerville fire truck that he had not been trained on that had not been fitted for him. An autopsy later found that Rose died after inhaling superheated gasses and other combustible material.
The state report found that Rose likely became disoriented while trying to find his way out of the basement in heavy smoke and high heat conditions. The department issued eight violations to the Mount Marion Fire Department and six to Centerville for missteps during the blaze, including a failure to keep track of Rose’s whereabouts.
On May 19, shortly after the state issued its report, Rose’s parents, Gary and Linda Rose, filed the lawsuit against Mark in state Supreme Court. The suit filed by Kingston-based law firm Mainetti, Mainetti and O’Connor accuses Mark of negligently maintaining the woodstove in violation of fire laws and residential codes. The faulty stove, the suit claims was the sole cause of Rose’s death. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
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