Minerva fire deemed suspicious

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April 22, 2009

<a href="mailto:lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com">By LOHR McKINSTRY</a> The Press Republican Wed Apr 22, 2009, 07:02 PM EDT

MINERVA — A suspicious fire fought by a dozen fire departments destroyed a summer home on 14th Road here Wednesday morning.

The fire, reported just before 10 a.m., consumed a large, two-story home owned by Gary and Marion Hare of New York City.

No one was at the home when the fire broke out, fire officials said.

Minerva-Olmstedville firefighters were joined by numerous other area companies, including Schroon Lake, Newcomb, Pottersville and Bolton, to bring the fire under control.

“The fire destroyed a home that was unoccupied, and we will be conducting a full investigation,” Essex County Emergency Services Director Donald Jaquish said.

“We will be on the scene for quite some time.”

The Essex County Fire Investigation Unit, State Police and the State Office of Fire Prevention and Control Arson Bureau were all at the fire site going through the ruins of the home.

A dog trained to detect accelerants was being used in the investigation, supplied by the State Office of Fire Prevention and Control.

The home at 882 14th Road was assessed for about $200,000 and was insured. The house sits on an eight-acre wooded tract.

The Minerva house is the second unoccupied luxury home in southwestern Essex County to be destroyed by a suspicious fire in a month and a half.

The first was a March 9 fire that leveled an eight-bedroom, four-story Victorian home at 894 U.S. Route 9, Schroon Lake. That home was owned by Cheri M. Kenney of Pottersville and was listed on the real-estate market for about $600,000.

The owners of the Minerva home were reported to be on their way up from New York City to see their property.

E-mail Lohr McKinstry at:

lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com