TRR photo by Tom Kane Wreckage from the 12-alarm fire still smoldered four hours after the blaze was extinguished. (Click for larger image)

Fire destroys kitchen at oncology camp

By TOM KANE

POND EDDY — Twelve fire companies responded at 4:50 a.m. on Wednesday, August 8 to a raging fire on White Road in the Town of Lumberland. No one was injured.

The blaze struck an oncology camp for Jewish children under treatment for cancer.

An assistant cook, getting an early start on the day’s work, saw flames coming out of a window of a camp building where 30 kitchen workers resided. He quickly roused his fellow workers and called 911.

The camp, called Camp Simkah, houses almost 100 children from all over the world, who visit for eight weeks during the summer. During the winter, many of the children are housed in hospitals and treatment centers.

None of the buildings housing children were affected by the fire, which raged and super-heated the air.

“We protected the other buildings because we saw that this building was gone,” said Lumberland Fire Chief Ken Flieger. “The heat was so intense that it twisted the girders in the building and melted the rear light covers of a car parked about 75 feet from the fire.” The car belonged to Zelda Shuster, an oncology nurse who volunteers at the camp.

With a staff of 150, Camp Simkah includes a group of small buildings that cluster around Lake Diana. The structures are residences as well as an infirmary with a medical staff. Campers range in age from four to 25 years.

 “The medical center is like a small hospital with some of the top pediatric oncologists in the country who volunteer,” said Camp Director Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg. The center also has a full complement of oncology nurses on staff. The doctors and nurses rotate through the summer and spend about two weeks at the camp.

Despite the loss of its dining room and kitchen, the camp will remain open.

“We are bringing up portable equipment from New York City that will give us the ability to cook meals,” Rabbi Goldberg said. “We’re not going to disappoint these kids and send them home, because they’re so used to disappointment.”

As a temporary measure, the camp will use its auditorium as a dinning room.

Responding fire companies were Lumberland, Highland Lake, Yulan, Lava, Narrowsburg, Shohola, Lackawaxen, Sparrowbush, Port Jervis, Monticello, Cuddybackville and Heugenot.