A mid-afternoon fire on Mellick Road at the intersection of multiple counties and towns Monday drew dozens of volunteers from as far away as Burtonsville.
Dark, black smoke from the site, just north of West Lykers Road past the Schoharie/Montgomery County line could be seen from as far away as the Thruway, firefighters at the scene said.
The fire was called in after a reported explosion in the attached garage at the Mark Reed home and Climate Chief/ New Time Remodelers & GC home improvement business just before 2pm.
Even an hour and a half later, flames were still burning through the roof of the home.
Two attached garages were charred shells; volunteers helped wheel out a motorcycle and one of the vintage cars neighbors said Mr. Reed enjoyed restoring.
Fire police shut down Mellick Road in both directions for several hours; other volunteers used tanker trucks to transport water from near the bottom of the long driveway to the blaze.
The home and garages were a total loss.
In addition to the flames, firefighters also battled hot, humid temperatures—some taking breaks from fighting the fire inside air-conditioned rescue vehicles—and the low number of available volunteers—one reason so many departments were called out, they said.
Among the fire departments responding were: Sharon Springs, Carlisle, Canajoharie, Ames, Burtonsville, Rural Grove, Minden, and South Minden.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department and EMS as well as the Schoharie County Fire Coordinator’s office and State Police were also at the scene.