COVENTRY – Fire crews from multiple area fire departments worked into the early morning hours of Monday to knock down a fire that destroyed a home, barn and multiple vehicles.
According to Chenango County dispatch records, a call from a bystander came into the 911 call center at approximately 11:30 p.m. prompting mutual aid calls to Afton, Greene, Bainbridge, Harpursville, Brisben and West Collesville fire companies to the scene located at 836 State Highway 235, approximately five miles south of the Hamlet of Coventry.
Upon arrival to the scene, bystanders indicated that the barn structure was completely involved and that the blaze quickly spread to the mobile home positioned merely feet away.
According to Coventry Fire Chief Daron Schultes, both structures were fully involved and “burned to the ground” upon arrival of first-responders. The mobile home was in the process of being renovated and new building materials were stacked on the front porch – ironically, the only portion of the structures to not burn.
The residence was currently unoccupied, according to a neighbor on-scene, who also indicated that the last tenants had moved from the property in mid-December and that the owner of the property resided in the Binghamton-Elmira area.
While not in use for dairy or farming, the property and barn was being utilized for storage by the owner and a number of foodservice trucks, push carts and various food service equipment.
Both structures, the four vehicles and their contents have been deemed a total loss.
According to scanner communications, the fire also spread to surrounding dry grass and began to travel out and away from the structures.
Cause has not been established at press time, and it is believed that the property had no fire insurance. According to dispatch, records no injuries were reported.
County fire officials continue to warn residents of the state-wide burn ban in effect until May 15.
Currently, all of Chenango County in under a “red flag fire warning,” meaning that very dangerous fire conditions will exist beginning this afternoon and into the evening as winds from the southwest at 10–20 mph, with gusts to 30 mph, coupled with low relative humidity could enable fires that develop to rapidly spread out of control.
The National Weather Service issued the red flag warning early Monday morning. The warning will remain in effect from 1–7 p.m. Monday for all of central and upstate New York.
“Just because there has been a lot of 'greening' the last couple of weeks, does not mean it is safe to burn," said the county's Emergency Management Office. “Yesterday, there were two large grass fires in the county that burned multiple acres.”