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DANNEMORA — Preliminary findings indicate the devastating New Year's Day fire that destroyed the Dannemora Town Highway Garage was likely linked to malfunctioning cables on a plow.
"The possible cause was a short in the battery cable on one of the plows," Supervisor Americo "Ves" Pivetta said from his office Friday morning.
As officials continue to recover from the $1 million loss, Pivetta is still reeling from the overwhelming support the state and local community have showed since the blaze tore through the garage and charred almost all of the town's equipment.
"Everybody's been so good, and I can't say that enough."
He gave special credit to nearby towns and the State Department of Transportation for their continued assistance.
Surrounding communities have come together, he said, to make sure that the town's 23.6 center-lane miles and 20 miles of county roads remain plowed and safe for drivers.
"Everything's rolling right along, and we're keeping the roads clean. We have a couple of loaner plows and a front-end loader to use for now."
As he remains optimistic about the town's recovery, Pivetta stayed busy this week meeting with insurance officials, engineers who will be involved in construction of a new garage and town offices, and officials with several state agencies and branches of government.
"Things are getting coordinated," he said.
Pivetta, who took office the day of the fire, said the insurance investigation was completed this week and the final report is expected to be issued sometime next week.
"Our insurance carriers are right on the ball," he said, adding that engineers are continuing to work on final plans for the new garage and attached offices, which were already being planned before the fire.
He expects the building will be completed in October, though he knows the town "needs a building almost right away for the Highway Department because we have to get those trucks inside."
Despite the challenges, he said, the town is moving forward and heading in a positive direction.
"Things are going good, and we'll get by."
E-mail Andrea VanValkenburg at: avanvalkenburg@pressrepublican.com
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