POLAND — Four people, including a family of three, escaped a fire early Wednesday morning that destroyed a home on Route 11/Bakerstown Road.
Fire Chief Mark Bosse said the fire was reported at 677 Bakerstown Road around 3:30 a.m.
“The crews arrived on scene and saw a heavy fire going on the backside of the house,” Bosse said. “One of the people in the house was woken up by coughing and the smell of smoke. He went downstairs and saw some fire in the back room. He woke everyone up and got them out.”
Bosse said that all four people living in the house escaped without injury and were evaluated on scene by rescue personnel.
A cat, a dog and a bird were still missing, he said.
“Since the call came in so early, we were relying on people responding from home, so it took a little while to get the fire knocked down,” Bosse said. “We have a lot of good working relationships with neighboring communities, in terms of neighboring aid, and it automatically kicks in during these situations.”
Bosse said the Office of the State Fire Marshal is expected to investigate the cause.
Officials shut down Route 11 in Poland for several hours while fighting the fire.
The American Red Cross wrote that a Red Cross Disaster Action Response Team member will help the people who were displaced by the fire.
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