ST. REGIS FALLS — An icy driveway made St. Regis firefighters’ job more difficult as they prepared to douse a fully-ablaze home with water Saturday morning.
After their first truck slid back almost 1,000 feet as firefighters tried to drive it up the incline to the burning house, the water supply was set up at nearby Deer Valley Trails restaurant, Fire Chief Wilbur Bailey said.
A hose pumped the water in from there.
“The firemen who drove the truck up, they were lucky there wasn’t a mishap,” he said. “I’m glad nobody was hurt.”
The fire, which was dispatched at 7:41 a.m., destroyed the two-story home located at 4670 Blue Mountain Road.
No one was at home when the fire started, and no one was injured in the blaze, Bailey said.
MANY FIREFIGHTERS
Between 30 to 40 firefighters helped fight the flames. Departments from Dickinson, Moira, Brushton, Paul Smiths/Gabriels and Malone provided mutual aid at the site of the fire, and Bangor and Bombay stood by, as did Tri-town Rescue.
The log cabin-style home, which had cathedral ceilings and was assessed at about $150,000, is owned by Steve Boulds, who was in Malone when the fire started, Bailey said.
”It was a beautiful home,” Bailey added.
Bailey said Boulds did not have insurance on the home.
’NOT SUSPICIOUS’
Former firefighter David Hart, who lives near the home, reported the blaze to Boulds’s father, Larry Boulds, who lives nearby, Bailey said.
Franklin County officials were investigating the cause of the fire, but it does not appear to be suspicious, Bailey said.
The St. Regis Falls Volunteer Fire Department was back in service at about 1 p.m.
Email Felicia Krieg: [email protected]
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