City of Newburgh firefighters met with a massive two-alarm fire on New Year's Day.

"Upon arrival, we had heavy fire on the second floor of a vacant two-story building, both engine companies put lines in service," said City of Newburgh Fire Department's Assistant Fire Chief Bill Horton.

The Air Guard and West Point, Cornwall, and Hudson fire departments also responded. One firefighter suffered burns on his ear, neck, and head while fighting the flames and was treated at St. Luke's Hospital.

Due to the controversial city budget cuts for 2020 announced in October, 16 percent of the Newburgh Fire Department's workforce was laid off. Wednesday was the department's first day operating with less manpower.

"Today we have an on-duty number of 10 men on duty," said Horton. "Typically, we were having 12 or 13 on duty, so we were short three guys today."

Horton says the reduced staffing made it more difficult to fight the fire.

"We had to have two lines in operation, and with only four guys doing that for two lines, it gets a little difficult, so if we had the extra two men, it would have been a little quicker," said Horton.

An investigation into the cause of Wednesday's fire is still ongoing.