SOUTH OTSELIC – Colleen English knew there was something wrong as soon as she saw her landlord running. Moments later, she saw for herself what had caused his concern: the commercial structure across the road at 1055 County Road 13, which housed DuBois Welding and Sandblasting, was on fire.

“The flames were sky high,” she said. “It happened in a matter of minutes.”

English said she heard four or five small explosions from the building as crews from the South Otselic Volunteer Fire Department, DeRuyter, Georgetown and Cincinnatus battled the blaze. And there were tense moments when the wind changed, threatening both the adjacent house the DuBois call home and the new house they are in the process of building.

“I could hear the crackling of the tree,” English said.