A raging wildfire destroyed a large barn, an unoccupied house and a garage and closed down Route 30 for several hours Tuesday afternoon.
About 45 firefighters from 10 departments in Schoharie and Delaware counties battled the blaze, which was first reported about 3 p.m., according to Middleburgh Fire Chief Brian Devlin.
There were no injuries, he said.
“I was the first on the scene … and there was about four acres of grassland on fire and the barn was fully involved,” Devlin said.
“As soon as I got there the barn collapsed,” he said.
Heat from the barn, filled with old hay, apparently set a garage attached to a 21⁄2-story wood-frame house on fire. All of the buildings were destroyed.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but there was no immediate indication that it was deliberate. There was electric power to the house, he said.
Traffic along Route 30 was detoured around the site in both directions by state police and Schoharie County sheriff’s deputies, Devlin said.
The fire was about a half-mile north of the intersection of Clauverwie Road and Route 30.
Investigators hadn’t determined the ownership of the property Tuesday, but Devlin said the house was believed to have been vacant for several years.
Firefighters had to run water lines about 1,200 feet to the Schoharie Creek “but water wasn’t a problem,” Devlin said.
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Categories: Schenectady County
