No one injured, minor damage in Ludlow attic fire

Original Post: The Chester Telegraph February 13, 2024

Afire at a rental home on West Hill Road in Ludlow on Saturday night began with a wood stove, according to Ludlow Fire Chief Pete Kolenda.

“The family inside had been renting the place for about a month and were about to go to bed, when they heard crackling by the stove,” Kolenda told The Telegraph. “When they looked up, they could see fire inside the roof line and called 911.”

“The response took 12 minutes from when we got the call at” 10:06 p.m., Kolenda said. Besides Ludlow, four fire departments responded to the scene including Proctorsville, Mount Holly and Chester, which sent a total of seven trucks, while the West Weathersfield Fire Department covered the Ludlow station.

Kolenda said that level of response is standard for structure fires. “A structure fire is an automatic first alarm,” he said. “You need manpower, basically.”

Heating and cooking fires are the leading cause of structure fires in Vermont, according to the Vermont Department of Public Safety. And while residents here are less likely to be injured in a structure fire than their national counterparts, Vermont firefighters, 90% of whom are volunteer, are more likely to suffer related injuries.

“Fortunately, we caught this one just in time, right as it went into the attic,” Kolenda said. “Everyone is OK. The fire damage is not as extensive as the water damage. But another 15 to 20 minutes, and it would have turned into a whole other situation.”

A wood stove on Saturday night caused an attic fire in Ludlow. No one was injured and the damage was minor. Photo by Cara Philbin.