Fire damages home in Clarendon on 31A

Photos by Tom Rivers
CLARENDON – Firefighters work to put out a fire at the corner of Bennetts Corners Road and Fourth Section Road (Route 31A) on Wednesday night.

Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at about 9:30 p.m. The house at 4507 Bennetts Corners Road is owned by Geoffrey Whittier, who had it on a land contract to residents who recently moved in, a town official said. The residents weren’t in the house at the time of the fire. A neighbor managed to let the pets out of the house.

Firefighters said there were no injuries and the fire is under investigation.

Tim Adams, a Fancher-Hulberton-Murray firefighter, cuts through the metal roof. He uses ladders so he doesn’t slide off the roof. Not only are the metal roofs harder to cut through, but they are also slippery, firefighters said.

Tim Adams, left, is joined on the roof by Joseph Morlino, a F-H-M firefighter. They were working to cut through the roof to help ventilate the house.

Firefighters also work on the back of the house, which sustained damage.

Fran Gaylord, a Holley firefighter and deputy fire coordinator for Orleans County, operates the ladder truck for the Clarendon Fire Company. It was about 20 degrees out while firefighters worked to put out the fire.

Route 31A was closed to traffic near the Bennetts Corners Road intersection.

Dave Knapp, a fire investigator for the county, said he would check the heat source in the house to see if that was the cause. He said fires often happen once the cold weather hits and furnaces and fire places are used after sitting idle for months. He urged residents to make sure their chimneys are maintained and cleaned.