A firefighting family is dealing with the loss of their own home after a fire on Friday night. The Oraville home of Vergennes Fire Chief Chad Sherman is a total loss, firefighters say. His wife, Trish, and oldest son, Hunter, are also volunteers with the Vergennes Department.
“We all practice fire safety and prevention, it’s our number one job,” said Travis Skinner, an area firefighter who knows the family. A devastating fire at a firefighter’s home is “not a common thing to happen.”
The National Fire Protection Association, whose annual Fire Prevention Week ended Saturday, says fire departments nationwide respond to nearly 360,000 house fires a year; causing $6.7 billion in damages.
No one was injured in the Oraville fire, and the cause wasn’t known Saturday, Skinner said.
The Shermans were on the property but not in the home on Friday night, a family friend said.