MORRISONVILLE — Joe Ormsby was about a week away from moving into his new home before it was gutted by fire early Wednesday morning.
Morrisonville Fire Chief Steve Brown said the residence at 17 Woodland Hills Drive near Soper Street was completely engulfed
in flames when his crew arrived at about 6 a.m.
The home was unoccupied at the time, he said, because it was in the final stages of the building process.
“There were construction crews working there last night, and everything was fine when they left,” he said.
Brown said the cause of the fire was still under investigation.
He said Ormsby does not have insurance on the property because it would not officially go into effect until after he took ownership.
Volunteer fire departments from Morrisonville, Beekmantown, Plattsburgh District 3, Keeseville and Peru immediately responded to the fire, according to Brown.
Crews and equipment from Cadyville, Saranac, Dannemora, AuSable and Cumberland Head remained on standby.
Brown said he was unsure of the exact amount of water used to extinguish the flames, but said he knows is was significant.
“They definitely used quite a bit (of water) due to the heat,” he added.
He said even though flames had fully engulfed the home by the time firefighters arrived, they worked quickly and were able to gain control before the fire spread.
The home’s relatively new age made putting out the flames a bit more tricky, Brown said.
“We weren’t quite sure about the stability of the structure because it was newly built,” he said.
Brown said Ormsby declined assistance from the American Red Cross.
Volunteer crews from Morrisonville Fire Department were called back to the property at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday because the flames had rekindled.
