MONSEY – A fire this week at a large “McMansion-style” house in this hamlet turned up an unpermitted short-term rental at the home, a Ramapo town official said.
The late-morning fire on April 22 needed a multi-department response from volunteer firefighters amid challenging conditions.
“We were able to determine after interviewing the occupants, that the group, which was from Canada, had rented the house for a brief period,” Ramapo Chief Fire Inspector Adam Peltz said on April 24. “The chaperone could not tell us who the rental agreement was made with or for how much.”
Calling the short-term rental an Airbnb-type arrangement, Peltz said, “This use is not permitted within the Town of Ramapo.”
Peltz also said the basement included a mikvah, which is a submersion pool used for ritual bathing by members of the Orthodox Jewish community.
Peltz said the town had issued numerous violations to the owner of the property for the use and additional property maintenance issues.
“As a single-family dwelling the property is not subject to annual inspections as outlined in the Fire Code of New York State, so we would have no way of knowing if any out of the ordinary uses was taking place,” Peltz said.
The house’s Certificate of Occupancy has been revoked due to fire damage and utilities being shut off, Peltz said.
Ramapo Police were investigating the fire along with Rockland County Sheriff’s Department’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation. No final determination on the origin of the fire has not been made, said Sheriff’s Chief of Police Division Theodore Brovarski.
The brick-and-stucco-style home at 161 Remsen Ave. was sold on June 7, 2023 to 27 Property Holdings LLC for $2.3 million, according to Rockland County land records. The property was transferred to Remsen Views LLC.
The property is 1.43 acres, deed records show, and as of June 2023 was a single-family residence. Peltz said there was a two-lot subdivision proposed on the lot in 2023 but nothing had moved forward.
Monsey Fire Department Chief Ben Frommer said it was a tricky fire to fight. The house was expansive with several rooms in the finished basement.
Bunk beds, suitcases, mikvah in basement of Monsey home
Basement fires are already challenging, Frommer said, but the basement’s unusual layout and clutter posed more challenges.
Frommer said it appeared that the large “McMansion” style home’s basement was used for recreation, entertainment and sleeping quarters with more than 40 bunk beds.
Visitors at the time of the fire had suitcases in the sleeping quarters.
“It was a fancy McMansion,” Frommer said. “Was it used for the right purpose? I cannot say.”
Peltz said the fire damage was limited to the area of the mikvah.
There was also a living room area and rec room, along with a couple bedrooms.
With visibility down to nothing, Frommer said, at least two firefighters fell into the mikvah. He said they were evaluated at the scene but seemed fine.
Besides clutter from furniture and suitcases, and the mikvah, Frommer said the basement ceiling had extensive plumbing that made cutting into it tricky.
Instead, firefighters cut into the kitchen area floor on the main level of the home to vent and chase the fire.
Peltz said the occupants that were home at the time of the fire heard the activated smoke detectors and smelled smoke and evacuated.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Fire at Monsey ‘McMansion’ reveals illegal short-term rental
Reporting by Nancy Cutler, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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