by Alex Brooks
The home of the Votra family at 1024 Taconic Trail, just east of where Dayfoot Road meets Route 2, burned to the ground on Monday afternoon.
No one was home at the time of the fire, and no one was injured. The fire was called in by passers-by who saw the smoke and flames, one of whom was firefighter and Petersburgh Supervisor Siegfried Krahforst.
[private]The Petersburgh Fire Department responded very quickly, arriving on scene about five minutes after the call came in, but the building was “fully involved” when they arrived, with smoke and flames pouring vigorously from the windows and the basement. The firemen shuttled water from the hydrant next to the Town Hall and used a swimming pool on site for water storage. Twenty-four members of the Petersburgh Fire Department responded, as well as ten or so additional firefighters from mutual aid companies, including Berlin, Stephentown, Hoosick and Grafton.
Petersburgh Fire Chief Bill Seel said, “Firefighters on the scene worked hard to get the fire under control.” One thing that posed a problem while firemen were putting out the fire was a live power line which fell down across Route 2. But the firefighters were able to continue working, and NYSEG removed the wire pretty quickly.
The fire was too far advanced when firefighters arrived to save the house, but they did keep it from spreading to nearby outbuildings and accessory structures. As darkness fell, there were still two of the walls standing, but Seel had to call in an excavator to knock them down, as they created an unsafe condition for firefighters extinguishing the remains of the fire.
The Petersburgh F.D. Auxiliary responded, providing refreshments for the firefighters. Rensselaer County EMS1 responded, and the County Sheriff’s Deputies also assisted at the scene. Fire fighting activities were mostly completed by 7 pm, and NYS DOT came out to salt the road where water had landed on it, posing a danger of icing. The Fire Department sent out personnel on Tuesday and Wednesday to check out smoldering remains and make sure the fire was fully extinguished.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation so no information about that was available at press time.
The house that burned was formerly the farmhouse of Clarence Hewitt’s farm and was built over two hundred years ago
The house was owned by Jim and Christina Votra. They lived there with their two boys, and they are expecting a third child. The community has responded generously to help the Votra family in the aftermath of the fire. They are staying with family nearby, and the boys are able to continue going to school in Berlin.
No Rest For The Weary
The Petersburgh Fire Department was called out again on Tuesday night to put out a chimney fire on River Road, but Chief Seel said there was no major damage from that fire.
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