Staff report
RUTLAND—The state police have deemed a fire that left 10 people displaced “suspicious.”
The Rutland City Fire Department arrived at the fire at 75 Main St. in Rutland around 5 a.m. May 1 and found a two car garage near the house heavily involved in fire.
“There was a heavy volume of fire that the arriving crews were faced with,” Rutland City Fire Chief Jim Larsen said.
Larsen said a resident woke up in the early morning and alerted the other residents, who were safely able to make it out of the building.
Larsen said there were no injuries to residents or to the firefighters but there was “significant damage” to the building and the neighboring building, with smoke and water damage throughout.
Larsen said it took about 30 minutes to extinguish the flames.
The cause is under investigation.
Preliminary state police investigation showed that this fire originated in the rear southwest stairwell area of the structure, according to a news release. The fire travelled to a rear stairwell, then spread throughout the structure and roof areas.
Electrical and natural causes were ruled out. A specific point of origin could not be determined at the time of the police report due to the almost complete consumption of the area.
Anyone with any further information on the fire is asked to contact Det. Sgt. Tom Williams at the Rutland Barracks, Rutland City Police Detective Emilio Rosario, or call the Arson Tip Award Line at 1-800- ARSON.
The police are offering a $5,000 reward for any information that could help lead to an arrest.
