By Mark Davis
The Valley News
WEATHERFIELD, Vt. — A fast-moving fire destroyed a 200-year old house on Route 5 yesterday afternoon and forced authorities to close the busy roadway between Ascutney and Springfield.
The homeowner and his two young children escaped without injury when the fire broke out around 3 p.m., Ascutney Fire Chief Darren Spaulding said. Authorities believe the fire started in the rear of the home, near a storage shed, but were unsure yesterday about what sparked the flames.
Spaulding said he was unsure if the home had smoke detectors — firefighters had been unable to begin their investigation yesterday evening as they worked to bring the fire under control.
The first firefighters on scene stopped flames before they reached about 70 percent of the two-story clapboard home, adjacent to the Bow Baptist Church. At that point, much of the home had suffered only smoke damage, Spaulding said.
But the firefighters, dependent on a nearby dry hydrant, quickly ran out of water and were helpless as flames quickly spread to the rest of the home. Numerous tankers from other fire departments arrived soon after, but flames burned hot for more than one hour.
“When we ran out, the fire ran through there,” Spaulding said.
The homeowner, whom authorities did not immediately identify, declined to comment as he watched his home burn from a neighbor’s lawn.
Authorities shut down both lanes of Route 5 at the scene, which was four miles south of the intersection of Route 5 and Route 131.
Firefighters struggled to deal with the heat during the muggy afternoon, but Spaulding said none had any serious problems.
Neighbor Robert Auclair said he saw flames jump from the grass near to the home. Auclair said he then jumped into Route 5 and began directing traffic before fighters arrived. “You could see the grass burning, the house wasn’t ignited yet,” Auclair said.
Neighbors said some ammunition stored in the garage area exploded, and tops blew off two propane tanks that were close to where the fire ignited. Black smoke was visible from nearby Interstate 91.
Firefighters from Claremont, Cornish, Plainfield, Charlestown, Springfield, Vt., Windsor West Windsor, Weathersfield and Hartland responded.
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