BRADFORD, Vt. — Audrey Osgood was working in her flower garden on Wednesday when her son, who lives next door, and her nephew came over and asked what she was burning on her property.
A fire had started in a lean-to attached to Osgood’s garage, where she stored rakes, mulch and other miscellaneous garden equipment.
It was “already burning pretty significantly” when Osgood realized what was happening, she said in a Thursday phone interview.
The three of them tried to use garden hoses to extinguish the blaze, but it wasn’t long before the fire had spread to the garage and house — located at 549 Branch Rd., about a 10-minute drive from the center of town — and nearby woodlands.
One of them called 911, and the Bradford Fire Department arrived on the scene shortly after 6:15 p.m. The department received support from more than a dozen nearby fire departments as well as Upper Valley Ambulance and the Grafton County Sherriff’s department, Bradford Fire Department Chief Nate Brooks said.
A family friend, Matt Ellsworth, also assisted at the scene, Osgood said.
The site was cleared at 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, and the house was considered a total loss.
“I got the clothes I was wearing (and) my cellphone,” Osgood, 67, said. Her nephew also was able to remove her car from the garage before the fire grew too great.
Osgood still isn’t sure how the fire started. The incident is currently under investigation, Brooks said.
After the fire blazed through Osgood’s home, it burned through about an acre of woodlands, Brooks said.
Now retired, Osgood grew up helping out on her family’s 100-acre beef farm, which ran along Branch Road. One of her sons now manages the farm, and parts of the land were divided up for Osgood and other family members.
Her father and ex-husband built Osgood’s 1,600-square-foot house in 1981, she said.
The property, which sits on an acre of land, is assessed at $172,000, according to town property records.
Osgood was living at the house alone at the time of the fire.
For now, she’s staying at her sister’s home down the road while she figures out what to do next.
At some point, she hopes to rebuild the house, which was insured. “It’s just going to look a little different,” she said.
She’s experienced an outpouring from family and friends extending their support in the wake of the fire.
“We’ll get through this together, I guess,” she said.
