BRUNSWICK — Mike Petrio's mailbox is one of the few things he has left after a fire destroyed his Eagle Mills home earlier this week.

And the mailbox at 375 Garfield Road is now full, with a $1,400 bill from the Town of Poestenkill for the water used to combat the blaze that consumed his home on Monday. Petrio lives in the Town of Brunswick and firefighters traveled a mile down the rural road to fill their trucks at a Poestenkill hydrant.

It took multiple fire companies nine hours to knock down the inferno, Eagle Mills volunteer fire department chief Tom Martin said. The home was set a quarter-mile off the road and flames ripped through the structure. The roof collapsed into the home and the windows blew out. Firefighters set up temporary ponds and zipped down the road to fill their tanker trucks at the best hydrant.

Unfortunately for Petrio, that hydrant happened to be in Poestenkill, which buys its water from Brunswick. Martin says his firefighters don't have time to worry about the town in which a hydrant is located when they are battling a blaze.

"When we go out to a reported fire, this type of situation never enters our mind," he said.

Petrio, whose house is likely a total loss, could not be reached Thursday night. He has not responded to the bill, town officials said.

Poestenkill buys its water at a rate of $4.35 per thousand gallons from Brunswick and Troy, town Supervisor Dom Jacangelo said. He defended the bill and said it was one of the strange circumstances that has been brought about in this era of strained resources.

"It's basically to recover the resources put out by the taxpayers of Poestenkill," he said.

He said the firefighters used 73,000 gallons of Poestenkill's water and that there were hydrants a similar distance from the burning home in Brunswick. Jacangelo expected Petrio's home insurance would cover the bill and said it was similar to an ambulance charging a patient's health insurance. He added the bill could be reduced.

Martin disagreed that a homeowner should ever have to pay for water. He said firefighters need to select the most efficient place to obtain water in any fire situation and that they would not alter their practice as a result of the bill. He said Eagle Mills will host a benefit for Petrio at 8 a.m. on Sunday at the fire hall, 627 Brunswick Road to help pay for the bill and the rebuilding of his life.

swaldman@timesunion.com • 518-454-5080 • @518Schools