SOUTH NYACK - A woman and her two young children were taken to the hospital for observation after a portion of their Hamilton Place home caught fire yesterday afternoon. Firefighters doused all of the flames within roughly 25 minutes of their arrival at 2:25 p.m.

The woman and her children - a 3-year-old and an infant - were not injured. They were taken by ambulance to Nyack Hospital as a precaution, police said.

NYACK - Coming on the heels of a gang fight in April, a melee that erupted at 2 a.m. yesterday became so serious that one witness said police resorted to Tasers and Mace to subdue a crowd of at least 20 people.

Orangetown Police Chief Kevin Nulty said a local officer noticed the fight on South Franklin Street, in front of the entrance to the Nyack Plaza apartment complex.

NYACK - About 50 to 60 firefighters continued to work on a basement fire at The RC T-shirt store on Main Street this afternoon.

The fire at 95 1/2 Main St. was reported at 3:19 p.m. and forced the closure of Main Street between Broadway and Franklin St. Firefighters from both Piermont and Nyack contained the blaze within about 15 minutes.