The Lumberland Fire Department and neighboring departments responded at 11:00 a.m. on December 20 to a house fire on Proctor Road next to Brookwood Camp in Glen Spey. Originally there was thought to be two victims of the fire, in which the house burned to the ground, but only one body was found.

In all, five companies responded with manpower and equipment, Lumberland, Highland Lake, Yulan, Port Jervis and Matamoras, and six additional companies were called to provide pumping equipment. About 50 firefighters actively fought the blaze and were returned to quarters at 8:00 PM.

The fire was reported through 911 by a passerby driving on Proctor Road as well as a neighbor who asked not to be named who saw it out of a second story window. After calling it in, the neighbor reported seeing significant flames and then heard an explosion.

Lumberland Fire Chief Eric Robles said that the roof was already caved in upon arrival and that the fire was fully involved. After extinguishing the flames, much of the work involved overhaul, sifting through the remains of the building. Robles said that as fires go, it was pretty “cut and dried”.

The cause of the fire is undetermined and under investigation by the State Police and Sullivan County fire investigators. The site wasconsidered a crime scene and State Police were on site and barring access.

By Monday, the scene had been released and the State Police were no longer on site. Eerily, leaning against the inside of the gate at the beginning of the long driveway to the ruins that morning was a delivery from Lowes. The box was addressed to David Gourevitch of 592 Proctor Road.

This incident followed a 3:00 a.m. December 15 break-in at the Glen Spey post office and adjoining Bisland Insurance Agency office on Forestburgh Road. The perpetrators entered through the rear of the building and broke through the doors to both places of business through a common area. There was damage to the offices but Roger Bisland, owner of the property, said that there was no obvious loss other than a portable computer in his place of business. Post office employees would not comment on the amount of damage or loss to their workspace. 

The Postal Service and State Police are investigating the losses to the Post Office and the insurance office, respectively. The investigations are ongoing. The State Police did not return a call asking for comment.