The Tupper Lake Volunteer Fire Department’s Tower 164 operates at a third-story window during a structure fire at 31 Cedar St. in Tupper Lake on Friday. (Provided photo)

TUPPER LAKE — A quick response from the Tupper Lake Volunteer Fire Department and several other area departments that rushed to the scene on mutual aid kept a Friday night structure fire from being much worse.

The fire broke out at 31 Cedar St., the old Moose lodge, at 10:02 p.m. Friday. The building’s second of three stories had subsequently been converted into a single-family apartment. Even though it wasn’t a total loss, the smoke and water damage rendered the dwelling unlivable at the moment.

There were people inside when the fire broke out, according to TLVFD Chief Royce Cole. They reported the fire promptly and self-evacuated. There were no deaths or injuries to either residents or firefighters.

Cole said it took about 10 minutes from when the call came in to when the TLVFD was on scene. Firefighters first applied a water can, a pressurized portable fire extinguisher meant to keep the fire at bay until a line could be stretched.

“We were able to hit it pretty quickly to minimize (the fire) until we could get an actual line stretched,” he said.

The fire was located between the second and third floor around a wood stove pipe, Cole said. After it was contained, firefighters had to cut into the floor to make sure there weren’t any extensions, where the fire may have spread elsewhere.

Given the building’s nature, Cole said the fire could have spread readily had suppression efforts not begun in short order.

“It would have been quite considerable,” he said of the fire’s potential. “Luckily, it was at a reasonable hour of time when the residents were still up. They were able to catch it, call and we got there very quickly. Due to the size, construction and the age of the building, it could have turned into a nightmare for us firefighters.”

TLVFD responded with 23 members and three trucks. The Saranac Lake and Paul Smiths-Gabriels volunteer fire departments responded with trucks and manpower to the scene, along with Franklin County Emergency Services Deputy Coordinators. Cole estimated that there were around 40 firefighters at the scene in total. The Piercefield Volunteer Fire Department responded with a truck and manpower to stand by at TLVFD’s station during the call.

Cole said the response lasted about four hours. During that time, temperatures hovered around the zero-degree mark, slipping into the negatives as the night went on. Cole said this presented inherent challenges that firefighters had to be mindful of — such as the potential for freezing lines, and slippery ice around the scene where water was draining.

Village Mayor Mary Fontana said her heart goes out to the affected family and their path to recovery. While she said any loss of property was unfortunate, she lauded TLVFD’s response.

“Our department did exactly what it was supposed to do,” she said. “We’re always eternally grateful to our department and our volunteers.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Franklin County Cause and Origin team, and is not considered suspicious at this time.