From our Southern Vermont - Bennington County reporter Patrick McArdle:
STAMFORD — An early morning fire on Saturday destroyed a building on the grounds of the Eagle Lumber Company and left two emergency responders injured, according to Stamford Fire Chief Paul Ethier.
The fire took place in the lumber processing building at the Eagle Lumber Company’s Robillard Road site, off of Route 100. No one was in the building and it was not in operation at the time of the fire.
Ethier, who estimated the fire was probably the largest in Stamford in about 15 years, said he was one of the first to reach the scene of the fire that was reported at 4:23 a.m. Saturday.
“The building was completely involved in the fire. (The fire was at) the processing facility which was one of six buildings total (at the site). The building is probably 75 to 100 feet wide (and) 200 feet long,” Ethier said.
The building was considered a loss but firefighters were able to keep the flames from reaching the other five buildings on the grounds.
“It was a combination metal (and) wood frame structure. Anything that was wood burned, anything that was steel weakened to the point that the building was unstable. We brought in an excavator to help us overhaul the building and pull down any unsafe areas that could possibly cause an injury,” he said.
While Ethier said no cause has been determined for the fire yet but it does not appear to have been deliberately set.
“We have a couple of things that we’re looking at and the state fire marshals will be down (today) to do an official investigation but right now it’s undetermined and it’s not suspicious,” he said.
The single-story building was part of the business which Ethier said had been in Stamford for as long as he could remember.
There was no answer to calls made to the business on Sunday but according to the company website, Eagle Lumber is a “second-generation family-owned company dedicated to providing quality wood products at reasonable prices” and focus on sustainable forestry practices.
Ethier said there were about 50 firefighters at the scene Saturday with his department supported by Vermont fire departments from Whitingham and Readsboro and Massachusetts fire departments from Clarksburg and Florida.
According to Ethier, two people were injured during the incident, a firefighter and an emergency medical technician. Both injuries were caused by slipping on ice and Ethier said neither injury was life-threatening.
Both people were taken to North Adams (Mass.) Regional Hospital. Ethier, who didn’t identify either person except to say the firefighter was not from his department, said he didn’t know the condition of either person.
Firefighters set up a large-diameter hose water supply to help bring the fire under control which was achieved within about two to three hours, Ethier estimated.
“We spent the rest of the day putting out hot spots and we cleared the scene about 1:30 p.m.,” Ethier said.
Despite the fact that the fire took place on an early morning in February, Ethier said weather wasn’t a factor in the efforts to bring it under control.
“We were pretty lucky it was yesterday and not today because it was a little bit warmer,” Ethier said on Sunday.
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