VIDEO: Vermont state police are investigating a suspicious fire in Orleans. It happened Saturday at 43 Maple Street. โIt was huge, once it broke through the roof. The flames were probably 50 feet high, if not more,โ said Rodney Libbey of Orleans. Libbey was sleeping when the house next door went up in flames. He rushed outside to see what was going on and said the flames were so high that he thought the whole block might catch on fire. He just moved into his new house and was concerned when he heard the fire was considered suspicious. โIt gives everyone a sense of fear. We all watch enough TV these days to know if someone is going to commit a crime, yeah, OK, so they did it at this level, what is their next step going to be? You know, everything is still up in the air. I hope they find out something,โ Libbey said.
The Orleans Fire Department said they were on scene at 2:20 a.m. on Saturday. The house is a total loss. It had been up for sale. State police are still investigating and the cause of the fire has not yet been determined. But a reward poster on the house implies the cause could have been arson. โSometimes there are suspicions of arson. You have a call that you are questionable about or whatever, but, actually, one that is determined is very hard to determine,โ Assistant Orleans Fire Chief Jay Ratte said. The fire department says the fire looks suspicious because nobody was living at the home at the time of the blaze and the electricity was off. โIf it does catch on fire without power, that is obviously a red flag,โ Ratte said. Troopers say they will give more information once the investigation is complete.
