Early morning blaze destroys farm machine shop

UPDATE Dec. 4, 2:25 p.m.  Vermont State Police fire investigators responded at the request of the Chester Vermont Fire Department, and found the cause to be undetermined, and not suspicious. The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources also responded to assist with a HAZMAT spill of glycol that was a result of the fire. In addition to the fire companies listed in the story below, Charlestown, NH also responded.  All units and personnel were clear of the scene by 1:45 p.m. this afternoon.

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC

The second early morning fire in two days sent the Chester Fire Department out to Clemons Road off Route 10  to put down a blaze in a barn/machine shop owned by Dick and Roberta Alexander.

Around 7:30 a.m., the Alexanders’ daughter-in-law Amanda arrived at the family’s home and, hearing an explosion, she and Roberta Alexander went to investigate.

“We ran around the barn and saw the smoke coming out of the building,” said Amanda Alexander.

“Right about then, windows started popping out,” added Roberta Alexander.

The building had stalls for livestock, but was mainly a large machine shop as well as storage space for a tractor and a pickup truck. The Alexanders keep a couple of horses and beef cattle but all were out to pasture at the time of the fire.

“Dick wanted to try and save the pickup,” said Roberta Alexander, “but he didn’t dare open the door.” The 2012 Dodge pickup truck was unrecognizable in the aftermath of the fire.

The Alexanders told The Telegraph that they had no idea how the fire had started. The building was heated by a woodstove, but the last fire laid in it was on Wednesday and was just coals by the end of that day.

By 9 a.m. with the building a complete loss, Dick Alexander had fired up his bulldozer to assist firefighters in pushing down the remaining posts and pulling some of the large equipment clear of the wreckage.

“Oh, that’s my John Deere,”said Roberta Alexander as her husband pulled the burned wreck of a tractor out of the building, “I loved that tractor.”

According to Roberta Alexander, the family has lived at the Clemons Road farm for 52 years and built the machine shop in 1992. “Dick can make or fix anything,” she said, noting that her husband had lost a lot of tools and equipment in the fire including some of his father’s tools.

The Chester Fire Department responded with two engines, a tanker and a rescue truck and was assisted by equipment and firefighters from Proctorsville, Westminster, Ludlow, Ascutney, Springfield, West Weathersfield and Bellows Falls as well as Chester Ambulance. The Grafton Fire Department and the Phoenix Company of Londonderry covered the Chester fire station during the fire.

According to firefighters on the scene, Thursday’s call was for a chimney fire. Chief Matt Wilson confirmed that that chimney fire occurred across the street from the fire station. He added he’d have more details later today.