A barn burned to the ground Monday morning in Enosburg Falls, closing Route 105 for about an hour and leaving behind a smoking heap of metal and ash.
No people were hurt, as the barn was primarily used for storage, according to owner Thomas Kane, who owns the nearby Kanes’ Scenic River Farms. Nine hens were lost in the fire. A mini-horse that was in the barn at the time escaped unharmed.
A passing driver, who also happened to be a volunteer firefighter, noticed flames in the hayloft and called the fire department Monday at about 9:30 a.m., according to Sheldon Fire Chief Richard Piaseczny.
Sheldon Fire immediately called surrounding fire departments for mutual aid, Piaseczny said. When he arrived about 10 minutes later, the barn roof was down.
Firefighters from Sheldon, Enosburg, Franklin and Berkshire — and nine fire trucks — responded to the fire, according to Piaseczny.
Piaseczny said he was “not 100 percent sure” what caused the fire, but he believed it was related to the electrical system.
The barn was not insured, and Kane said he doesn’t plan to rebuild.
Charles Clair, one of Kane’s employees, has lived in the house next to the barn for years and kept a few animals in the barn as a hobby farm, he said.
— Riley Robinson
