Canton Fire was dispatched at 0704 hours to a mutual aid call at 514 County Route 25 in Russell for a reported house fire. Canton Rescue had been previously dispatched and reported a working fire upon their arrival. Engine 7 (B. McCluskey) responded and arrived at 0730. Responding personnel found a single family home heavily involved in fire. Rescue 1 (Grandaw), Tanker 20 (Pinckney), and Rescue 36 (Clark) also responded to the scene. Members worked in sub-zero temperatures alongside numerous other mutual aid departments for several hours to extinguish the fire. The extreme cold made fighting the fire very difficult, with freezing hoses, trucks, and turnout gear being the norm. Departments from as far away as Gouverneur, Lisbon, and West Potsdam responded to assist with firefighting and tanker shuttle operations. The New York State Police closed County Route 25 for over 6 hours while firefighting operations were in progress. All residents escaped the home uninjured. There were no firefighter injuries and all 14 Canton Fire personnel were back in service at 1404 hours.
This was the third call of the day, with a fire alarm at 37 Riverside Drive at 0112 and an alarm at Hulett-Jenks Hall (SLU) at 0420 starting off the morning.