PEOPLE SAFE; 2 DOGS DIE

3 Homes Burn

 New Year’s Eve 

By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

COOPERSTOWN – Whipped by high winds, flames destroyed three homes in northern Otsego County overnight – in the towns of Middlefield, Springfield and Otsego.

At  9 p.m. New Year’s Eve, crews from the Middlefield Volunteer Fire Department were called to 207 Rezen Road after a passerby called 911 on observing a home on fire.

“It was fully involved when we arrived,” said Fire Chief Doug Roberts. “There was no saving the house. Our main objective was to protect a large barn full of hay.”

The occupants were not home at the time of the fire, and the crews were able to keep the fire from spreading to the barn. They returned to the station at 6 a.m.

Then, about midnight, the Springfield Volunteer Fire Department was called to 373 Hinds Road, north of Route 20, for a fully involved single-story structure fire. “When we got there, part of the roof had already started to fall in,” said Fire Chief Craig Hysack.

The residents were not home at the time. However, once the fire was contained, it was discovered that two dogs had perished in the blaze.

at 3:27 a.m. today,  Fly Creek  volunteers called out to a chimney fire at 4345 State Highway 80, Town of Otsego.

“The wife woke up and heard crackling in the wall,” said First Assistant Chief Steve Baker. “The husband tried to hit it with the fire extinguisher, but it was already in the walls. They grabbed some clothes and the dog and ran out the door.”

By the time Fly Creek firefighters arrived on the scene, they could see the fire in the kitchen, and fought it until 8 a.m. “The house is still standing,” said Baker. “But it’s likely a total loss.”

Because of its central location, the Cooperstown Volunteer Fire Department responded to all three fires, with the fire whistle sounding throughout the village overnight.

The fires in Springfield and Middlefield remain under investigation.