Fire Destroys Home In So Ro Saturday
By Martha Slater

Fire destroyed the Richard Jenks, Jr. residence in South Royalton Saturday, Jan. 27.

Firefighters from the Royalton, Sharon, Bethel and Tunbridge departments responded to the fire at 667 Otto Merrill Rd., off of Back River Rd., at 1:22 p.m. and found the residence fully engulfed in flames. No injuries were reported as a result of the fire.

Royalton Fire Chief David Whitney told The Herald that the Vermont State Police and Division of Fire Safety was requested to conduct an investigation into the cause of the fire, which appeared to have originated in the immediate proximity of a wood stove at the rear of the first floor of the home.

According to a report issued Jan. 31 by the state police, this area was also found to be where the stove pipe exited the structure, and the wood stove appeared to have been in good condition. Due to the amount of devastation to the structure, the exact cause of the fire was undetermined at press time.

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