CARROLLTON, N.Y. — A house on Windfall Road was deemed a total loss following a blaze late Monday morning.
No injuries were reported in the fire, which took place at 5797 Windfall Road, just east of Kill Buck. One cat was saved but another cat, a dog and a large bird perished, according to Mike Soper, fire chief for the Limestone Volunteer Fire Department.
The property is owned by Larry Zimbardi, he said. No one was in the residence at the time of the fire.
“It was fully engulfed upon our arrival,” he said, nothing all that remains on the property is a shell of the house. “We think it was a faulty chimney for the wood stove.”
He said Zimbardi left for work early in the day but returned home for a short time before leaving again. He reported that “everything was fine” when the owner left. The Limestone Volunteer Fire Department received the call at 11:03 a.m.
“(Zimbardi) actually said he might have smelled smoke the day before, but if you are burning a wood stove that’s a normal smell,” said Soper.
The fire chief noted that the cold and snow didn’t factor into the firefighting, although a snowplow from the Town of Carrollton helped by sanding near the fire trucks to combat the potential development of ice.
Responding to the fire, besides Limestone, included fire departments from Salamanca, Kill Buck, Allegany, the Seneca Nation and Great Valley. Derrick City (Pa.) was on stand-by at the Limestone hall. Members of the District 4 F.A.S.T. team, along with the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Department, were also at the scene.
