Fire Destroys Old Warehouse on Route 23

Flames shoot skyward from a storage building off state Rt. 23 at Lumber Road in the town of Gilboa early Monday morning.

The first water hits a fire that destroyed a storage shed in the town of Gilboa early Monday morning.

Smoldering embers are all that remained of a storage shed on state Rt. 23 early Monday morning after fire consumed it.

By Liz Page

SOUTH GILBOA – Stamford firefighters got the call early Monday for a fully involved structure fire on state Route 23 in the town of Gilboa. Stamford Fire Chief Don VanEtten arrived to find the fire through the roof of a live electric line across state Rt. 23.

"There was a live power line across state Rt. 23, which hindered our operations and stopped traffic along Rt. 23 for at least an hour.

The cause of the blaze is undetermined, due to the extent of the damage, although it is believed it started on the second floor, said VanEtten. There was power to the building that once was part of Buel's Lumber Yard.

It is believed a nearby neighbor was the first one to discover the fire and called the owners, according to another neighbor.

Fortunately, said VanEtten, a crew from a paving company had stopped and was helping with traffic as fire units began to arrive on scene. They also notified VanEtten that no one was in the building.

Traffic was rerouted from state Rt. 23 to South Gilboa Road and Benjamin Road.

VanEtten called mutual aid to Hobart, Grand Gorge, Jefferson, Roxbury and Conesville. Tankers were used to supply water to the fire scene, filling at nearby Mayham's Pond.

"There was nothing we could do about the building that was on fire, but we had several exposures to protect," said Van Etten. "We had a building very close by on the east side and the siding on the old Lawrence Real Estate building across the road was melted by the intense heat. Some nearby vehicles also received some heat damage."

An estimated 50 firefighters worked at the scene. There were no reported injuries, according to VanEtten.

The building is owned by Tom Lane and was used for storage. The contents are a total loss, said VanEtten.

Assisting at the scene were the Schoharie County Ambulance crew, Schoharie County Sheriff's deputies, SchoharieCounty fire investigators, NYSEG and the state Department of Transportation.

Stamford firefighters were back in service around noon on Monday, said VanEtten

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