Please see the below correction in RED

 

 

 

VSP NEWS RELEASE   

 

Incident/ Fire Investigation – Guilford, Vermont

 

STATE OF VERMONT

 

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY FIRE & EXPLOSION INVESTIGATION UNIT

 

VERMONT STATE POLICE – Westminster Barracks

 

Vermont State Police Case # 21B1007287

 

INCIDENT TYPE: Fire Investigation

 

FIRE INVESTIGATORS: Detective Sergeant James Wright

 

CONTACT# 802-722-4600

 

DATE/TIME: 12/15/21 Approximately 11:00 AM

 

INCIDENT LOCATION: 5314 Calvin Coolidge Memorial Highway, Guilford, Vermont

 

Homeowner: Ralph Winchester, Guilford, Vermont

Injured: Ralph Winchester and Anthony Lyman (Guilford, VT)

          

SUMMARY OF INCIDENT:

On December 15, 2021, at approximately 1100 hours, the Guilford Fire Department received a report of a structure fire at 5314 Calvin Coolidge Memorial Highway for a report of a structure fire with injuries.  Guildford Fire also received reports of explosions coming from the building.  Guilford Fire arrived and found the structure to be completely engulfed by flames.  Fire suppression efforts were isolated to an exterior attack due to the stability of the structure.  An excavator as well as mutual aid from Bernardston, Mass.; Brattleboro; Putney; Dummerston; Vernon; Hinsdale, N.H. and West Chesterfield, N.H. was requested for assistance with fire suppression efforts; however, the structure was unable to be saved. Station coverage and assistance was also provided by Marlboro and Halifax Fire Departments.

The property owner, Ralph Winchester, suffered significant burns to his body and was transported to the hospital to be treated for his injuries.  Winchester’s condition is unknown at this time. 

Minor injuries were sustained by Anthony Lyman to include minor burns, scratches and abrasions from his efforts to remove the vehicle and escape the fire.  Lyman was treated at the scene.

As part of his scene assessment, Guilford Fire Chief Jerad Bristol contacted the VT Dept of Public Safety Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit for assistance in determining the origin and cause of the fire.

Members of the Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit responded to the scene and conducted an investigation into the origin and cause of this fire.  The investigation revealed Winchester and Lyman were working on a vehicle inside the garage.  While working around the gas tank to the vehicle with a cordless drill, a fire broke out under the vehicle.  The fire spread across the floor and into the vehicle.  Winchester received his injuries when he and Lyman pulled the vehicle out of the garage, in an attempt to separate that was on fire, from the building.  An acetylene gas tank located inside the vehicle, exploded as the fire engulfed the vehicle that had been pulled out of the garage by Winchester and Lyman.

This fire remains under investigation, however, is NOT considered suspicious.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Det. Sgt. James Wright at the Westminster Barracks at 802-722-4600 or by contacting the Vermont Arson Tip Award

Program (VATAP) hotline at 1-800-32-ARSON (1-800-322-7766). The VATAP will pay up to a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

 

 

Det. Sergeant Jamie Wright

Vermont State Police

Fire and Explosion Unit

BCI Troop B – West

Shaftsbury Barracks

96 Airport Road

Shaftsbury, VT 05262

Tel: 802-442-5421 ext 4490

Fax: 802-442-3263

Email: james.wright@vermont.gov

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