HAGAMAN - A fire at 24 Scenic Road early today morning took the life of the home's resident.
A news release from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said Vincent Patrick, 84, received fatal injuries during a fire that rendered his home a total loss.
Hagaman Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jeffrey Ball said firefighters received a call from the Montgomery County Fire Dispatch about the structure fire at approximately 2:06 a.m. today.
The first fire truck to arrive reported heavy smoke and fire at the rear of the building, Ball said. Information from neighbors led firefighters to believe there was potential for one occupant to be trapped inside.
According to the release, attempts by fire and police personnel to enter the building and remove Patrick were unsuccessful because of the fire's nature. The Greater Amsterdam Volunteer Ambulance Corps eventually transported Patrick to St. Mary's Hospital in Amsterdam, where he was pronounced dead by Montgomery County Coroner Joe Riley.
The fire department had some logistical issues at the scene.
"We had a couple of delays in there because the power lines came down due to the conditions," Ball said.
National Grid was forced to come in and fix the power lines. Ball also said the home, located on a dead-end street, had no fire hydrants in the immediate area, so it took time for firefighters to get water to the scene as well.
Ball said firefighters were able to get the fire under control in "a couple hours," though he said the structure is a total loss. He said the Montgomery County Fire Investigation team is investigating the fire's cause and origin, though the release from the sheriff's department said the fire's cause does not appear to be suspicious.
Montgomery County Undersheriff Jeffery Smith said there was a power outage in Hagaman Thursday, but said it was not believed to be related to the cause of the fire. He said he had been told Patrick cooked often, and could have been cooking in the middle of the night. He said he could have experienced medical problems while doing so, though he could not confirm those details.
"I don't know if a definite cause will ever be determined," Smith said.
Neighbor Rick Delos, who grew up near Patrick's family and now lives near Scenic Road, said Patrick would be missed.
"He was like a father to all us kids here," he said. "He took all the kids in. That was like the main place to go play when we were kids."
Fire departments from Cranesville, Fort Johnson, Tribes Hill, Florida, Perth, Galway and West Charleston responded to the scene, as did the Montgomery County Cause and Origin Team and the Montgomery County Fire Coordinator. The State Office of Fire Prevention and Control also was at the scene.
