Drug operation said to be cause of Saturday night fire

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2015 Telegraph Publishing, LLC

A Saturday night blaze on Route 10 in Chester was caused by a “drug operation,” according to Chester Fire Chief Matt Wilson in an interview on Sunday afternoon. Just after 8 p.m. the Chester Fire Department was called out for a structure fire at 1831 Route 10, where firefighters found a large garage at the top of a rise, fully involved and a brush fire spreading from it. Before they could get to the fire though, they had to cut the locks on the gate that restricted entry to the driveway.

A gutted car with its tires burned off sits in front of the burned out garage in what officials characterize as a drug related fire. All photos by Shawn Cunningham. Click any image to launch the gallery.

Wilson said once firefighters reached the garage, it was entirely surrounded by flames that were moving toward the house. There was also a 500-gallon propane tank that Wilson characterized as “a lot closer than usual” to the building.

Fighting the fire safely involved shutting off the power to the immediate area, but when the Chester department made the call, Green Mountain Power shut off the wrong portion of the grid, plunging downtown Chester into darkness. Within 20 minutes, the error had been rectified with power restored to downtown and cut to the area around the fire.

The burnt grass, center, shows how close flames came to the 500 gallon propane tank just feet from the house at left.

With the help of mutual aid, the department set to work to keep the fire from the propane tank and the house just feet away. Multiple explosions in the garage were caused by small propane tanks and other objects, but caused no injuries.

“Firefighters made a forcible entry into the house to clear anyone who might be there, and that’s when it turned into a Hazmat incident,” said Wilson, adding that firefighters found evidence of what he called a  “drug operation” when they entered.

Beyond the wreckage of the garage and car, a brush fire spread down the hill toward the road.

“Arson was not the cause of the fire,” said Wilson noting that it was a result of the drug related activity in the garage. “This kind of thing happens when you do illegal stuff,” said Wilson.

While he confirmed that the drug operation did not involve methamphetamine, he would not discuss it further noting that it is the subject of an investigation by the Chester Police Department.

Firefighters quickly put down the fire and — aside from a Chester firefighter with a chemical sensitivity who was evaluated for exposure to a product containing that chemical — there were no injuries. The firefighter who was checked out for chemical exposure was later cleared.

The crew was finished and returned to the fire station at 11:30, but was called out again at 12:30 a.m. Sunday for a bonfire and from 1:30 to 5 p.m. Sunday, six Chester firefighters responded to a large brush fire in Athens.  The Telegraph reported on Friday May 1 that dry conditions and wind would create dangerous brush fire conditions for this weekend and until there is a substantial rain. Please contact your fire warden before doing any outside burning.