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By MEAGAN MURRAY
BLACK BROOK — A local man was killed and his wife injured in a fire that destroyed their Silver Lake Road home Sunday afternoon.
Vernon Hoover, 67, died in the blaze at his 836 Silver Lake Road residence, AuSable Forks Fire Chief Jason Whisher said.
The AuSable Forks Fire Department was dispatched to the Hoover residence at 2:41 p.m. By the time firefighters arrived, the fire had spread to most of the house.
Mr. Hoover and his wife, Sandra, 62, were home when the fire started.
Neighbor Maryann Denton said that she heard what she thought was an explosion. Onlookers who gathered in front of the residence Sunday afternoon could see black smoke and flames pouring out from the windows.
According to witnesses, an unidentified motorcyclist passing by the home and a neighbor, Timothy Seguin, 48, were able to force down the front door and carry out Mrs. Hoover, who was reportedly hooked up to an oxygen tank.
She was transported by ambulance to CVPH Medical Center, where she was still being evaluated Sunday night.
The couple's daughter, Kimberly Hoover, 39, also lived at the home with her daughter, Caressa, 14, and boyfriend, Ken St. Germaine, 32, and four cats.
Kimberly said she received a call from her daughter, who was down the street at a friend's house when she learned of the fire, and rushed to the home.
hisher said it took four hours to put out the blaze.
District 3 firefighters were called in with water tankers from the Keeseville, Jay, Saranac, Peru and Wilmington fire departments to fight the fire. AuSable Forks emergency-medical technicians were on hand, he said, along with the South Plattsburgh Fire Department's air truck for additional support.
Whisher said power lines made it difficult for firefighters to contain the blaze.
"There were power lines down that were still live," he said. "It cut us off from going near half of the house."
The home suffered severe roof- and interior-structural damage from the flames. Whisher is calling the home a total loss. The cause of the fire has been ruled accidental.
