From the Brattleboro Reformer:HALIFAX >> Fire officials believe a man in his early 30's died while attempting to save his dog in a house fire.
"(Ray White Jr.) woke up first and hollered to his friend. He said, 'Hey, we got a fire. Get out,'" Halifax Fire Company Chief Wayne Courser said. "He did. He supposed the whole time Ray was out. He may have come out but we think he may have went in to get his dog."
A second alarm for the fully involved house fire at Reed Hill Road went out at 1:39 a.m. on Thursday morning. The home was owned by Halifax firefighter Joel Nebelski and his wife Dawn. Nebelski responded to the fire.
White was staying at the home, which Courser said he believed White was renting at the time. The dog, a part Lab, was the only animal living there at the time and did not survive the fire.
The home was a trailer with a large addition on it.
"I believe (White) was in the trailer part," said Courser.
The fire is still under investigation and was not considered suspicious. Courser said the building was well gutted and considered a total loss.
Whitingham Fire Department and Colrain Volunteer Fire Department, from Massachusetts, assisted at the scene. Marlboro Fire Department covered the Halifax station.