Grass fire singes rural house, barn
By LOU REUTER
Enterprise Senior Staff Writer
VERMONTVILLE - A quick response from area fire departments and a lack of wind
The fire, on property owned by Stephen Buzzell of Saranac Lake, was called in at 2:55 p.m., and volunteer fire departments from Bloomingdale, Saranac Lake, Paul Smiths-Gabriels and Lake Placid responded to the scene at 113 Fletcher Farm Road with more than 65 members and at least nine trucks.
A one-story house and a barn were in the path of the blaze, but firefighters saved the structures from serious damage and kept the fire contained to about two acres of dry grass and brush surrounding the buildings. Flames burned the brush around three sides of the home and also encircled the small barn on the property. Both the house and the barn sustained minor burn damage, according to Bloomingdale Volunteer Fire Department officials; one corner of the home was slightly singed by flames.
Jason Cogan, first assistant chief for the Bloomingdale Volunteer Fire Department, said a resident at the house, Lane Buzzell, was burning debris in the yard and the fire got out of control. Cogan said flames were just beginning to reach the home when he arrived on the scene, and firefighters first concentrated their efforts on the buildings.
"Two acres were on fire when we arrived, and one side of the house was starting to burn," Cogan said. "Our priority was saving the house and the barn, and then we worried about the burning brush. It was a brush fire that got out of control. Once everyone showed up; it didn't take long to put the fire out.
"We were fortunate there was no wind, and we were fortunate that we got plenty of help," he added. "It was a quick knockdown."
Cogan said it took about 45 minutes to extinguish the blaze.
