RIO GRANDE — An abandoned farmhouse on Indian Trail Road was destroyed by fire Tue., July 26. The house, which sat 60 feet off the road, is part a property that was once a pig farm.
The fire was called in at 7:03 p.m. by a passing motorist who saw smoke coming from the woods. Firefighters from Rio Grande, as well as Cape May Court House, responded to the blaze.
“We had a heck of a time getting to it,” said Jim Belles, Assistant Chief of the Rio Grande Fire Department. “It was surrounded by trees.”
Middle Township police closed Indian Trail Road for a short time, allowing fire trucks to park alongside the property’s edge.
Belles explained that the company was out on two other calls when the alarm sounded for the Indian Trail fire. “We were able to get there quickly,” he said, “otherwise it would have spread into the woods.”
The fire was under control within seven minutes of the fire companies’ arrival. “Knocking down a structure fire in seven minutes is pretty quick,” said Belles. Part of that might be attributed to a new piece of equipment. “We have a new fire truck, called a CAFS,” he said. “It’s a combination of water, foam and compressed air.”
According to Belles the fire has been declared suspicious in nature, and is under investigation. “We found a burnt mattress in the basement,” he said. “That’s probably how it started and then it spread to the floor joists.”
The fire destroyed the property. “It was in bad shape to begin with,” said Belles.
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