Around five this morning the house at 353 Melrose Valley Falls Road went up in flames. No one was inside, but the owner said his family still suffered a loss.
"We bailed hay until very late last night, the equipment was out and I was afraid the hay mount was going to catch on fire," said Charles Remington, the property owner.
The Remingtons were able to save the equipment and hay, but not the vacant house on their property. The Remingtons live across the street. But the vacant home was part of their farmland. It stored their tools. And Remington hoped someday it'd go to one of his kids.
"There's nothing left, it's either melted or gone," he said.
The Remingtons were already facing a tough economic year, forced to sell their milk cows in April. It was costing more to produce the milk than what they could charge for it. Now, they are dealing with a suspected arson. And they're not the only ones.
"Everyone who has a vacant building, and it always seems to happen Thursday nights and Friday mornings," he said.
Schaghticoke Fire Chief Mike Jackson told Fox 23 that this is the 15th suspicious fire in the area since the first of the year. The cause of the fires is still not known, but state and federal officials are now involved in the investigation. So far no one's been hurt, but Remington said it's only a matter of time. He hopes it's all solved before that.
"I don't think it's kids, it's someone who knows what they're doing," he said.
At this point Remington said all he can do is rip the house down. He said that now, more than ever, he hopes officials find out what's been going on.
