Brandon house blaze 'suspicious,' say police
Toolbox
By Brent Curtis STAFF WRITER - Published: July 7, 2009
BRANDON — State and local police are calling a fire that destroyed a home on Wheeler Road Monday a "suspicious" blaze.
A one-story rental home at 2433 Wheeler Road was razed before firefighters arrived at the remote location, Brandon Fire Chief Robert Kilpeck said. No one was injured in the fire.
The site was so far off the beaten path that the Brandon department had to call on fire departments in Salisbury and Pittsford to truck water to it.
Compounding the location was the lateness of the call. Firefighters were called out at 6:48 a.m. by a neighbor who didn't observe the flames until the home was largely consumed. A tenant at the property was out of town when the fire started, Kilpeck said.
A state police fire investigator deemed the blaze suspicious in a statement released on the fire Monday. However, neither state nor Brandon police could be reached Monday evening.
Kilpeck said the fire seemed suspicious because of the circumstances. No one was home and the gas line at the property was turned off. Yet there was little left of the structure once firefighters arrived, the chief said.
"There are a number of things there to make us ask questions," he said.
Kilpeck said investigators were able to piece together that the fire started on the ground floor, but he said the origins of the fire were still unclear.
State police said the home was valued at $80,000.
Anyone with any information about the fire is asked to call the Vermont Arson Tip Program at (800) 32-ARSON or the Brandon police at 247-0222.
brent.curtis@rutlandherald.com
20