Authorities confirm to WKTV that Henry Synakowski, 93 died shortly after escaping a fire in Trenton. High winds fueled the fire at a farm Wednesday, where fire officials say the house, barn, workshop, and some of the field all caught fire.
Fire officials believe that the cause of the fire may have been the wood stove within the workshop of the property located behind the house.
Fire officials were called to Route 365 near Mapledale Road just after 4pm Wednesday afternoon. Responding fire fighters reacted quickly and arrived on scene in under 5 minutes.
When they arrived, the were met with heavy flames. They did try to fight the fire from the inside of the house, but the fire became too intense and they were forced out.
“At that time we experienced a flash over of the structure on the second floor. We had to pull an emergency evacuation and account for our personel. No fire fighters were injured at this time,” said Chief Kevin Kalk of the Barneveld Fire Dept.
The wind gust reached a peak of 48 mph which ultimately caused the fire to spread so quickly to all 3 structures on the property. All 3 buildings a total loss.
“Between the house the barn the shop and the equipment probably close to 750,000 dollars,” said Chief Kalk.
Authorities said six people lived on the farm. Troopers identified the man as Henry Synakowski, 93. They said he managed to escape the flames, but later died after repeated lifesaving efforts.
Officials said 40 cows made it out of the barn safely. They were unsure if their were any more animals in the barn during the fire.
Crews were on the scene well past 7:30 p.m.
Source:wktv.com
