Two die in house fire
By VDC staff
A Burlington man died last night after he was struck while crossing a road in Colchester.
At 11:11 p.m. on June 16, the Colchester Fire Department, along with Saint Michael’s College Fire and Rescue, was dispatched to the area of 172 College Parkway for a reported motor vehicle versus pedestrian incident with CPR in progress.
Media reports say the vehicle was traveling east in a single-lane construction zone as the pedestrian, identified when it struck Owen Rich, 62, of Burlington, as he was crossing the road.
Emergency crews arrived on scene to find bystanders already providing lifesaving resuscitation efforts. Fire and EMS personnel took over patient care and continued resuscitative efforts before transporting the patient to the University of Vermont Medical Center.
Despite the efforts of bystanders and emergency responders, the patient was later pronounced deceased at the hospital.
UTV fatality – In a separate incident, a 50-year-old Leicester man died Tuesday following a utility terrain vehicle crash on Lake Dunmore Road, according to the Vermont State Police.
Troopers from the New Haven Barracks were notified at about 4:33 PM on June 16 of a single-vehicle crash in Leicester. Investigators determined that Craig Disorda, 50, of Leicester, was operating a UTV southbound on Lake Dunmore Road when the vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree.
Disorda was transported to Rutland Regional Medical Center for treatment but was later pronounced dead at the hospital. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Chelsea house fire deaths – The Vermont State Police is investigating the deaths of two people whose bodies were found following a fire early Wednesday, June 17, at a house in Chelsea.
The fire was reported at about 3:15 a.m. at a single-family residence at 5 North Common. Members of multiple fire departments including Chelsea and Tunbridge responded and extinguished the blaze after approximately 3.5 hours. The building is a total loss.
During a subsequent search of the structure, investigators located the remains of two people. Their bodies will be brought to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for autopsies to confirm their identities and determine the cause and manner of their deaths.
Swamp rescue – Firefighters rescued a person Tuesday morning, June 16 after they spent the night stranded in a swampy area near North Beach Road.
The Burlington Fire Department responded at about 10:22 AM to reports of a person calling for help from a marsh obscured by dense cattails. A citizen located the individual approximately 30 yards into the swamp, and rescue crews entered from both the North Beach and Rock Point sides.
Firefighters navigated challenging conditions, including murky water up to 5 feet deep, thick vegetation, and uneven terrain near a beaver dam. The individual had remained partially above water by clinging to cattails and reported being in the swamp overnight. Rescuers fitted the person with a life jacket and, finding them too weak to walk out, used a Stokes basket to carry them to shore.
The Burlington Police Department’s drone team assisted rescuers by providing aerial guidance through the dense marsh. The individual was transported to the University of Vermont Medical Center for treatment of exposure to overnight temperatures. Fire officials credited bystanders with helping locate the person and directing rescue crews to the scene.