Strong Structure Fire

STRONG (June 3rd, 2007) – A fire destroyed a three-story apartment house at 34 Church Hill Road this morning. The cause of the blaze, according to investigators with the Fire Marshal's office, is undetermined.Strong Fire Chief Scott Dyar got the call at 8:38 a.m. that an apartment house was on fire. On arrival, he said, heavy smoke was coming from the 80-year-old building. "It was fully involved," Dyar said. With water hydrants near by, firefighters attacked the blaze from the exterior of the building. Dyar said the building had been reconstructed a number of times so he decided not to send anyone inside to fight the fire through themaze-like construction until he was sure it was safe.The two owners of the building, Mona Knowles and Mark Stottermeyer, were out of town at the time the fire broke out. None of the apartments in the building were currently being rented.Responding to the blaze were 60 members of fire crews from Strong, New Vineyard, Farmington, Phillips, Kingfield, NorthStar Ambulance Emergency Services and auxiliaries from Strong and Phillips.By 9:15 a.m. the fire was under control, Dyar said. His department stayed through the rainy day to keep watch over potential hot spots reigniting the fire. The building was a total loss, with an estimated loss to be $300,000 to $400,000. A shell of what was once a home was all that was left, Dyar said. "The home was totally destroyed," he said.