NARROWSBURG, NY — A little after 2 a.m., Cochecton emergency services responded with nine volunteers to a call at 14 Skinners Falls West Rd. The homeowner says just before the fire that burned the house began she heard people and footsteps and saw flashlights inside the house.

The house, the former Black Horse Inn on the New York side of the historic 1902 bridge.  had been owned by Gabriel and Floarea Vladu, since 1986. There was little left of their property, which was in smoldering ruins later that morning around 10 a.m. The Vladus are both in their 80s. 

Floarea told the River Reporter she was home when the fire started. Gabriel, her husband, is in Romania where they are from. As of the afternoon of October 4, she was discharged from the hospital and is with her granddaughter, Sabrina Heltzel, and one of her sons. 

She recalled the night, speaking with the River Reporter over the phone, “I heard noises” before the fire started and more than one person walking around the house, “opening doors, going up, and down, up and down, the stairs,” she said.

“I was in a sleep, but there were lights, flashlights, something,” she said and soon after she realized “smoke coming into my room and the carpet on fire,” “I must go, I must run outside,” she said.

“Thank God I got out, I was burning.”

Floarea says she went to a neighbor's house and knocked on the door but no one answered. She went to the next door and knocked and was crying until someone found her. 

“I’m afraid for people,” she said, “to come to somebody's house and put fire, I don’t understand.”

Her granddaughter Heltzel says she believes her grandmother's account. She is “clear” and “mentally aware,” Heltzel told the River Reporter.  

The fire is still under investigation and the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office has taken statements from individuals in connection to the incident.

Emergency response identified the call as a structure fire at the location by 2:46 a.m. and requested mutual aid and tankers. An ambulance was requested, and a country fly car was sent at 2:55 a.m. 

A neighbor, Jeff Vudz, was out in front of the smolder later that same morning. He said Gabriel, who worked in construction, always worked to fix up the house. “It's just so sad,” he told the River Reporter, shaking his head and staring at the pile of smoking rumble where Vladus' house had stood.

William Lothian, a neighbor who lives down the road, said the flames were high enough that he could see them from his porch and that the house burned for over an hour. 

Gabriel and Floarea lived in Romania under communist governance that lasted from 1947 to 1989. After five years of applying to receive passports to emigrate to the United States, the family sold their belongings and were able to come to America in 1994. 

After two years living in the city, Gabriel accompanied a friend who was looking for a property. This is when they first found Skinner's Falls, and he says Floarea fell in love with the piece of land.

Looking for the couple’s dog Rocco, Vudz said, “I don’t know if he made it.” Rocco has still not been found as of Friday afternoon. He is a six-year-old black lab mix and weighs about 60 pounds. If found, reach out to Cochecton Dog Control Officer Tamara DePaulo at 845/216-2892 or dogcontrol@townofchochectonny.org.  

Floarea said as of 5 on October 4  Rocco has still not been found.

Vudz said firefighters were filling up tankers from the pond on Route 97 and had created mini-holding ponds on the top of the road to fight the flames.

According to Vudz, a neighbor said he found Floarea on the lawn. 

This is a developing story and will be updated with more information. 

At the time of publication Cochecton Volunteer Fire Department, Sullivan County Division of Public Safety, Sullivan County Bureau of Fire and EMS, and White Lake Fire Company had not responded to requests for comments.

The cause of the fire is not known at this time. 

Read more about Gabriel and Floarea Vladu here: https://riverreporter.com/stories/couple-recalls-lifetime-of-loveand-escape-from-the-ussr,149783

Editor's note: This article was changed on 10/4/2024 at 2:33 to correct the spelling of William Lothian. This article has been edited as of 5 p.m. to include new information.