Police: Sheldon man dies after re-entering burning building

A Sheldon man died Sunday night while attempting to save his belongings from a fire, Vermont State Police said. 

Investigators believe the fire at 718 Sweet Hollow Road began around 8 p.m. near an outdoor wood boiler, then spread into a building next to the house of Larry Gregoire, 69, according to a press release. 

Upon noticing the fire, police said, Gregoire entered the structure to remove his truck that was parked inside. Gregoire then re-entered the building, they said, and was overcome by heat, smoke and fumes while inside. 

Firefighters responding to the scene found human remains inside the structure that an autopsy later determined to be Gregoire’s, police said.

The building and its contents were destroyed in the fire, police said. Damage is estimated at more than $200,000.

The state Department of Public Safety’s Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit investigated the fire.

— Shaun Robinson