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Red Cross volunteer Linda Nordman, middle, hugs Fayette Severance, left, as Red Cross volunteer George Sykes looks on at right, in Bethel, Vt., on Monday, July 14, after his family’s home burned the night before. Severance, whose family was away when the fire started, was alerted to the fire by smoke detectors and he said he had to pull his frightened dog Oso, left, out of the house, and he fears that his cat died in the fire. (Valley News – James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. -
Vermont Department of Public Safety Fire and Explosion Investigator Jesse Dobiecki, retrieves equipment from the home of Fayette Severance in Bethel, Vt., on Monday, July 14, 2025, after determining the fire that gutted the home on Sunday night was accidental. Fire departments from Bethel, Barnard, Stockbridge, South Royalton, Tunbridge, and Sharon responded to the fire. (Valley News – James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. -
Vermont Department of Public Safety Fire and Explosion Investigator Jesse Dobiecki packs up his equipment after he and fellow invesstigators determined the cause of a fire at the home of Fayette Severance and his family to be accidental on Monday, July 14, 2025. The Bethel Volunteer Fire Department responded to the fire at about 10 p.m. on Sunday finding the home fully involved in flames, said Bethel Fire Chief Paul Feeney. (Valley News – James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.
BETHEL — A fire Sunday night rendered a home uninhabitable, displacing the family who lived there, Bethel Fire Chief Paul Feeney said Monday morning.
After an “incident in the house” that started a fire, the homeowner, Fayette Severance, and his dog managed to exit the home on River Street Extension. He asked someone passing by to call for help around 10 p.m., Feeney said.
Severance lives in the home with his wife and twin children who were on a trip at the time of the fire, Severance said Monday. He managed to remove the scared dog from the house, but believes a family cat died in the fire.
The house is “uninhabitable” and will “probably be a total loss” following the fire, Feeney said. Though it is still standing there is “heavy smoke and fire damage.”
The Fire Department has “an idea” of what may have caused the fire, but Feeney declined to share any information about the cause, citing an ongoing investigation.
The Vermont State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation unit has ruled the fire accidental, but the cause was still under investigation Monday afternoon, Detective Sergeant Chris Blais told the Valley News.
Severance stayed with a neighbor Sunday night and the American Red Cross is working to help the family relocate.
The Bethel, South Royalton, Barnard, Tunbridge, Sharon and Stockbridge, Vt., fire departments were on the scene Sunday night. The fire was under control around 11:30 p.m. and officials left the scene just after 2 a.m.
From 11 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. a portion of Route 107 near the house was closed to traffic, according to alerts from the Vermont State Police.
Clare Shanahan can be reached at cshanahan@vnews.com or 603-727-3216. Valley News photographer James Patterson contributed reporting.
