The sound of horror ...!

Woke up around 3:15 a.m. to the sound of fire engine sirens.  A frightening sound in any neighborhood but more particularly in ours, as we are graced with beautiful historic homes dating back to the 1800's. I looked out of my quilting studio window and couldn't see anything but reflections of flashing lights. It wasn't until I checked the hallway window that I quickly saw what was going on. One house over from mine is where the fire was.

In shock, my photojournalism education kicked in, I quickly grabbed my camera, dressed up for arctic weather and headed outside to take photographs. The fire started in the back of the building where the furnace was located.

Sadly, it didn't take long for the fire to spread to the main part of the house into the third floor.

Things took a turn for the worse when the cupola engulfed in flames spreading like wild fire. At times, it was scary to watch.

The fire fighters were present from many surrounding districts.

That's how it is in our area, the volunteer fire department all help one another. Given the scope of the fire, the Champlain volunteer fire department was assisted by Altona, Mooers, Ellenburgh Depot, Ellenburgh Center, West Chazy, Beekmantown and Rouses Point and later on Cumberland Head and Plattsburgh District 3. From Vermont they had Alburgh and Alburgh Center. From Quebec, Canada,  Hemmingford, Lacolle, St Paul and St Bernard volunteer fire department were present.

In a desperate attempt to save the historical structure, the fire was approached from all angles.

The Plattsburgh District 3 brought in one of their state of the art, well that's what it looked like to me who has no clue about fire truck specs, huge ladder bucket truck. The water stream was so powerful that it actually looked like it was blowing the fire out as it doused it with water!

The beautiful historical house belonged to Jeff and Renee. They purchased it approximately a year ago with lots of dreams and determination. They had been working on it for the past year, slowly bringing it to a state where they would eventually move in.

Sadly, this beautiful home is now a total loss.

View from the rear of the house

Sigh!

As you can imagine from the number of volunteer fire departments that responded, my street was blocked. It wasn't until 11:00 a.m. that I was able to leave for Lakeside Coffee, our local coffee shop. I needed to get away for a bit, clear my mind.

Given the gazillion gallons of water that was used to extinguish the fire, our street was a mess. Sadly, this is what I witnessed half way down the street, a propane truck stuck in the ditch.

It sure has been a busy day for the Champlain Volunteer Fire Department.

My heart goes out to Renee and Jeff. They are such wonderful and beautiful souls.  Such a loss for them and our community.

A huge thank you goes out to all the volunteer fire fighters who battled arctic temperatures for hours. I am so grateful for your service and dedication.

Thank you for stopping by my little corner in cyber space.