( CNN ) -- A Canadian firetruck responding with lights and sirens to a weekend fire in Rouses Point , New York , was stopped at the U.S. border for about eight minutes , U.S. border officials said Tuesday . The U.S.-Canadian border is more than 5,000 miles long . Fire officials battling the blaze called for help from fire departments in nearby Quebec , using a longstanding and often-used mutual aid agreement . But the first truck that arrived at the small Rouses Point border crossing was delayed as officials checked documentation of the firefighters and their truck , officials confirmed . Two other trucks that arrived at the crossing next were cleared in less than two minutes each , a time that one fire official said was still too long considering the situation . `` It 's embarrassing , '' said Chris Trombley , chief of the Champlain [ New York ] Volunteer Fire Department and deputy fire coordinator for Clinton County Emergency Services . `` We 're calling for help from another country and the first roadblock they hit is at our border . '' The Canadian firefighters `` were asked for IDs , '' Trombley said . `` I believe they even ran the license plate on the truck to make sure it was legal . '' In the past , firetrucks on emergency calls cleared border checkpoints in 30 seconds or less , Trombley said , although he said identification is sometimes checked upon their return . A U.S. Customs and Border Protection official said the eight-minute delay at the Rouses Point crossing was caused `` when one of the firefighters ' admissibility was brought into question . '' He declined to elaborate , citing immigration and privacy laws . A government source familiar with the case said one firefighter had a criminal record , raising questions about whether he could enter the United States . Kevin Corsaro of the border protection 's Buffalo field office said the agency 's primary responsibility is to protect the homeland . He called the event an `` isolated incident '' and said agency officials were meeting with local fire officials to `` develop a plan to prevent the possibility of any delays . '' No one was seriously injured in the fire , but The Anchorage Inn restaurant -- a landmark in the village of Rouses Point -- was destroyed . A firefighter who suffered minor smoke inhalation was treated at the scene , said Michael LeBlanc , chief of the Rouses Point Volunteer Fire Department . The cause of the blaze has not been determined , he said . Ten fire departments , including the Canadian departments , responded to the fire . `` Would it [ quicker passage at the border ] have changed the outcome of the fire ? '' Trombley asked . `` Would the building have been burned ? Of course it would . '' But he said firefighters were getting fatigued fighting the fire and relief was delayed . `` Just the fact that it could happen and it could happen again is what has us worried , '' he said . Clinton County has mutual aid agreements with fire departments in Vermont and Quebec , Trombley said , and the county requests help from Quebec fire departments about 30 times a year . It sends help to Canada a similar number of times , he said . Trombley and LeBlanc said they planned to meet with authorities on Wednesday to discuss the incident . LeBlanc declined to comment . `` I do n't have all the facts and I do n't want to mistake what happened , '' he said . `` We 've had a mutual aid system in place since the '50s and I ca n't remember anything like this happening , '' said Trombley . E-mail to a friend .
Upstate New York firefighters asked nearby Canadian units for help with blaze . The fire was reported at about 9:45 a.m. in the town of Tupper Lake, a few miles from Lake George. Government source says one firefighter 's criminal record caused the delay . U.S. firefighter calls it embarrassing , says it delayed relief for tired firefighters .