News

Early morning house fire in Dummerston kills father, son

DUMMERSTON — Two people were killed in an early-morning house fire on 420 Schoolhouse Rd. on Jan. 6.

Russell Nutbrown, 90, and his son Barry Nutbrown, 57, died in the fire, according to Vermont State Police.

According to state police, the fire at the single-family home was reported to Keene Mutual Aid at 4:41 a.m., and the house was totally engulfed in flames by the time the first fire crews from the West Dummerston Volunteer Fire Department arrived.

Both men were inside the house when the fire broke out, state police said. Their bodies were transported to the Vermont Office for the Chief Medical Examiner in Burlington for autopsy.

Fire investigators from the Vermont State Police were at the scene after the fire, assisted by the Windham County Sheriff's Department.

No immediate cause for the fire has been found, but state police say that the fire is not considered suspicious, pending the completion of the autopsies and fire investigation.

According to Keene Mutual Aid, assisting at the fire were crews from Vernon, Guilford, Putney, and Brattleboro. The fire destroyed the residence, but fire crews were able to contain the fire and keep it from spreading to nearby houses.

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