VERSHIRE — A fire destroyed a house on Route 113 on Wednesday afternoon.
Jen Dunham, who lives at the Vershire home with her boyfriend Fred Eastman Jr., was watching TV when she noticed what she thought was steam rising past a window. Then she realized it was smoke.
Dunham went to a neighbor’s house to call 911 because they have no cellphone service at their home.
Eastman tried to find the source of the fire in their walkout basement but was unable to enter because of heavy smoke. Instead, he shoveled snow inside hoping it would douse the flames.
“There was heavy fire on arrival,” said West Fairlee Fire Chief Cory Austin. “There was nothing we could do.”
Firefighters from Vershire, Fairlee, Lyme, Thetford, Hanover, Corinth, Chelsea, and Bradford assisted on the scene as the highway was closed for a time. First Branch Ambulance provided emergency medical services and Orford firefighters provided station coverage.
Dunham and Eastman lost three pets in the fire, a black lab and two young cats, but were able to save their beagle.
