Larger Tragedy Averted In Nov. 26 Blaze
By Brian Sweeney
An early morning fire destroyed a Town of Andes highway department truck on Tuesday, Nov.
26, but a larger tragedy was averted by a quick response from fire personnel.
Superintendent of Highways John Bouton said the fire inside the highway garage triggered an
alarm about 4 a.m. Firefighters from Andes, Bovina and Delhi responded to the scene and
were able to quickly bring the fire under control. In addition destroying the 2009 Freightliner
dump truck/snow plow, there was some damage to the highway building’s electrical system.
Superintendent Bouton said the 10-year-old building is airtight and the lack of oxygen flow
slowed the spread of the fire. That fact, combined with the excellent job by firefighters, likely
prevented a much larger disaster. He noted the building housed eight town trucks, plus a
loader.
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| This 2009 Freightliner dump truck/snow plow owned by the Andes Highway Department was destroyed in an early morning fire on November 26. The rest of the fleet was not damaged and the garage sustained on slight damage. — Contributed photo |
“The interior firefighters assessed the situation, came in and extinguished fire,” Superintendent
Bouton explained. “I’m very pleased with the job the fire departments did. It was an
outstanding performance and could not have been better.”
The preliminary investigation by Delaware County fire inspectors points to a battery
malfunctioning on the truck as the cause of the fire. Firefighters spent about two hours on
scene.
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