A Wesley Jones, Pinstripes Photography Photo

PHARSALIA – Last week on Wednesday a fire destroyed a family’s home and two individuals barely escaped harm, but thanks to the support from their community – the family may be able to rebuild faster than expected.

According to Chenango County Chief Dispatcher A Wesley Jones, at approximately 2:40 p.m. on July 18 the Chenango County 911 center received a report of a house fire at Maple Hill Farm on County Road 10 in Pharsalia New York.

He said multiple calls reported a fully involved two story residence, and the Pharsalia chief arrived a few minutes later and reported seeing fire coming from several different parts of the home.

“One of the Bartlett’s children and a friend of his were the only ones at home when the fire broke out,” said the family’s go-fund-me organizer Catherine Murphy.

Murphy said the two were awakened from a nap by sudden urgent barking of the family’s three beloved dogs, and the two ran downstairs to find the house filling with smoke and flames appearing through the bottom of a closed basement door.

“They barely escaped from the house before it went up in flames, and they couldn’t save two of the three dogs who had saved them,” she said.