This story was published by the Waterbury Record on April 2, 2018.
[A] devastating fire Sunday evening at the Wallace Farm on Blush Hill in Waterbury destroyed two homes and a barn.
Rosina Wallace and her brother Kay “Wally” Wallace were not injured in the fire. The family dog was also uninjured, but 23 cows were killed in the fire, Waterbury Fire Chief Gary Dillon said.
A portion of one home was still standing Monday morning, but it’s a loss, Dillon said.
The Wallace family had farmed the land on Blush Hill since 1866. Rosina and Kay continued to run a dairy farm on the property that her great-grandparents, Sidney and Lavinia Wallace, purchased more than 150 years ago. Five generations of the Wallace family have labored to keep the farm operating.
Stowe, Bolton, Waitsfield, Moretown, Middlesex and Waterbury fire departments all responded to the blaze.
The fire started in the barn, and the age of the buildings and the wind caused the fire to spread faster than firefighters could keep up, Dillon said.
The Wallaces are currently staying with their cousins in Duxbury. A fundraiser has been set up at bit.ly/wallacefarmfire.