Clinton property fire was caused by a bathroom fan: Supervisor

A fire broke out Wednesday in Chappaqua.

Matt Spillane
Rockland/Westchester Journal News

NEW CASTLE - A bathroom fan caused the fire that burned part of a building on the Clintons' property in Chappaqua on Wednesday, New Castle Town Supervisor Robert Greenstein said today.

"Apparently a bathroom fan shorted out," he said in an email on Friday.

The small fire burned a hole in the bathroom ceiling of the facility, which is used by the Secret Service, at 15 Old House Lane, Greenstein said. The Chappaqua Fire Department declined to comment.

Firefighters on the scene of a fire at the home of former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton on Old House Lane in Chappaqua, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018.

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Fire extinguishers were used to put out the fire in the second-floor ceiling of the detached structure behind the Clintons' home, the Secret Service said in a statement on Wednesday.

The fire was reported around 2:40 p.m. and was quickly extinguished. Nick Merrill, a spokesman for former presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, tweeted on Wednesday that the couple was not home at the time.

Former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton have lived there for almost 20 years after buying the five-bedroom home for $1.7 million in 1999. In August 2016, the couple bought the four-bedroom house next door, at 33 Old House Lane, for $1.16 million.

Firefighters at the scene of a fire at the Chappaqua home of former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018.

In October, the town building inspector found that the Clintons were missing several permits for work that was being done on a kitchen renovation and in-ground pool on the property.

Twitter: @MattSpillane