Fire in Proctor leaves family homeless
By Cristina Kumka
Staff Writer | October 18,2012
Cristina Kumka / Staff Photo
Ten-year-old Tiana Moyer stands a block away from her home that was burned beyond repair Thursday afternoon. Moyer's dog, Coco, was saved from the burning building by a Proctor firefighter and the two were reunited as Moyer walked up to the home in tears.
An afternoon fire at 99 West St. in Proctor left a family homeless but the life of the family pet, a small white dog named Coco, was saved.
As homeowner Anders Velde watched in tears as his 10-year investment nearly burned to the ground, Proctor Firefighter Carl Messer rushed from the smoky house with a thumbs up.
An ash-colored puff emerged in his arms.
Velde ran over as if sweeping in, and near the home's back porch, took his beloved dog from the rescuer's arms.
Firefighters were searching for the dog for about an hour before discovering it, shaking and hiding under a bed in a corner of the home that wasn't burned.
It was the only consoling moment for the family of three and Coco, who lost their home to a fire that broke out at about 2 p.m.
Proctor Fire Chief Vinnie Gatti estimated at least $80,000 worth of damage to the uninhabitable home.
About an hour after the fire started, Gatti said it appeared to have been caused by a pellet stove, one Velde recently had installed.
Read more about the fire in tomorrow's Rutland Herald.
