Raging Blaze
Lights Up Sky,
Guts Garage;
Fire, Smoke Damages
Notable Home, Annex
By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
PHOENIX MILLS – A raging fire broke out at 6 p.m. today in the garage attached to the late Dr. Rodman Carter’s home at 1428 Route 33.
It gutted the structure and extended into an addition that connected the garage with the house, but at this hour the main house appeared damaged but secure.
911 Director Rob O’Brien said no one was injured.
Set on a hilltop on the east side of the River Road just north of Phoenix Mills, the attractive home for years has attracted the attention of passersby. This evening, the flames shooting into the air could be seen across the valley by drivers on Route 28.
The dramatic engulfment drew fire companies from across the region, Cooperstown, Hartwick Seminary, Hartwick, Milford, Mount Vision, Fly Creek, Middlefield, even Springfield. There must have been two dozen fire trucks and emergency vehicles at the scene.
Traffic was detoured at up Murphy Hill Road at the north end, and at Route 11C at the south.
By 7:30, the garage was down, and firefighters were p0uring water on the embers and what appeared to be the remains of an SUV.
The white, single-story addition between the main house and the garage appeared to have been significantly damaged. Firefighters had clambered up a ladder where the addition met the house, seeking fire in the roofs. “There are flames,” the man atop the ladder called out.
The main house appeared to have received at least significant smoke damage, but perhaps had escaped worse than that.
Dr. Carter, whose career as a Bassett Hospital urologist spanned 40 years, beginning in 1953, passed away last December.