VSP NEWS RELEASE   

 

Incident/ Fire Investigation – Shelburne, Vermont

 

STATE OF VERMONT

 

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY FIRE & EXPLOSION INVESTIGATION UNIT

 

VERMONT STATE POLICE – Williston Barracks

 

Vermont State Police Case # 21A102259

 

INCIDENT TYPE: Fire Investigation

 

FIRE INVESTIGATORS: Detective Sergeants Todd Ambroz, Stephen DiGregorio - Vermont State Police

                                           Special Agent Tam Vieth, ATF

                                           Assistant State Fire Marshal Stan Baranowski – Division of Fire Safety

 

CONTACT# 802-878-7111

 

DATE/TIME: 06/19/21 at approximately 6:57 PM

 

INCIDENT LOCATION:  246 Hawley Road, Shelburne, Vermont

 

Owners of the house: Jason (49) and Nicole (49) Vincent

          

SUMMARY OF INCIDENT:

 

At Approximately 6:57 PM on June 19, 2021 a neighbor living near 246 Hawley Road in Shelburne smelled something burning.  He discovered a fire behind the home at 246 Hawley Road that he was unable to put out with a fire extinguisher.  The Shelburne Fire Department along with several other local fire departments responded to the blaze.  Upon their arrival they discovered the two story home was fully engulfed in flames.  Once the fire was under control the Shelburne Fire Chief, Jerry Ouimet, contacted the Department of Public Safety Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit to conduct an origin and cause investigation.  The occupants of the house were not at home when the fire occurred and there were no injuries or deaths. The house is considered a total loss.  The origin and cause investigation, which was conducted on June 20^th and 21^st,  revealed the house showed signs of having been struck by lightning in the back of the structure, most likely on the corrugated stainless steel pipe (CSST), which supplied natural gas to the home.  A lightning strike report, aka StrikeNet Report, revealed there were 5 lightning strikes in the area at 3:48 AM on the morning of June 19^th, 2021.  The lightning strike most likely compromised the CSST and possibly an outdoor gas grill on the back of the house and burned for several hours under a porch until being noticed by one of the neighbors.  The fire is not considered suspicious, but anyone with further information regarding this case is asked to please contact Det. Sgt. Todd Ambroz at the State Barracks in Williston at 802-878-7111 or by email at todd.ambroz@vermont.gov.

 

The attached pictures of the fire were taken by local neighbors just prior the fire department’s arrival, and as the fire department was arriving.       

 

 

 

Detective Sergeant Todd Ambroz

Department of Public Safety Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit

Vermont State Police, A-Troop West

2777 St. George Road

Williston, VT 05495

Office 802-878-7111

todd.ambroz@vermont.gov

To request a copy of a fire investigation report use the link below:

https://vsp.vermont.gov/public/recordrequests