"We were able to save what we could," Chief Harris said.

In response to neighbors' complaints that there were no fire hydrants on their block, the chief said Greenport has more hydrants than are required.

"Everybody would like to have a hydrant in front of their house," he said.

But he agreed with Trustee George Hubbard, a longtime member of the department who was on the scene that night, that given the four-inch mains that feed the hydrants, more hydrants would have meant firefighters competing for the same water streams, weakening both. The nearest hydrant is at the corner of Broad and Second streets, about a half-block from the two homes. Other hydrants on both Broad and Webb streets and extending all the way to Steamboat Corner on First Street were accessed.

The smaller mains on side streets made it difficult to get as much water power as needed and that's what prompted the connection at Steamboat Corner, Chief Harris said. Once that connection was made, the firefighters were able to deal with the blaze effectively, he said.

Returning to the issue of vinyl siding, a statement from Kristen Ross at the Vinyl Siding Institute Inc. said siding "does not ignite quickly and is inherently flame-retardant." As for the toxicity of its fumes, Ms. Ross said, "when any organic material burns, it releases smoke that contains many different combustion products -- mainly gases, most of which are toxic. There is no research to substantiate claims that vinyl materials release unusually toxic combustion products."

She referred to a "Siding with Safety" brochure that says polyvinyl chloride actually ignites at a higher temperature than many other materials, including common framing lumber.

"PVC won't ignite, even from another flame, until it reaches about 730 degrees Fahrenheit," according to the pamphlet. It won't self-ignite until about 850 degrees, the pamphlet said, pointing out that those temperatures are higher than that for framing lumber, which ignites from a flame at 500 degrees or self-ignites at 770 degrees.

The village's Historic Preservation Commission has long campaigned against the use of vinyl siding. In a brochure the commission released in 2002, it concluded: "Vinyl siding emits highly toxic fumes during fires." Members of the commission couldn't be reached, but they had also previously circulated a report on the "Environmental Impacts of Polyvinyl Chloride Building Materials" written by Dr. Joe Thornton, who concluded that the use of PVC "poses substantial and unique environmental and human health hazards." With respect to its potential toxicity, Dr. Thornton said that PVC has caused a range of health hazards even "at extremely low doses," citing instances of cancer, reproductive impairment, disruption of the endocrine system, impaired child development and birth defects, brain damage and suppression of the immune system.

A review of various Internet sites reveals information about the potential dangers of vinyl that conflicts with statements made by the Vinyl Siding Institute.

The Center for Health, Environment and Justice in New York City, a nonprofit organization that provides assistance to grassroots community organizations nationwide, maintains that polyvinyl chloride is "one of the most hazardous consumer products ever created." It's "dangerous to human health and the environment," according to the CHEJ Web site.

Testimony in a New York State Supreme Court case from Dr. Judith Schreiber, a senior public health scientist at the New York State Department of Law in the Office of the Attorney General, said that vinyl chloride is classified by the federal Environmental Protection Agency as a human carcinogen.

"Vinyl chloride exposure is also associated with adverse effects on a wide variety of target organs, including the nervous system, liver, lungs, blood, immune system, cardiovascular system, skin, bones and the reproductive organs," Dr. Schreiber said. Even before flames are present, heated PVC can generate toxic and deadly fumes, she said.

"Accidental fires involving PVC have resulted in deaths and injuries due to exposure to toxic gases generated by PVC," she testified.

The International Association of Fire Fighters issued an alert in 1995 advising firefighters about the dangers of PVC in building fires, recommending that they use SCUBA equipment to avoid potentially toxic fumes. The most serious concern to firefighters is exposure to hydrochloric acid from PVC combustion, according to that warning. It eats away at the cell walls of the lungs, causing them to produce fluid that can cause a victim to "literally drown in his own body fluids."

jlane@timesreview.com

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