Fire Destroys Vermont Lieutenant Governor’s Business

The building that was home to a construction company co-owned by Vermont Lt. Gov. Phil Scott was destroyed Friday night in a massive fire that engulfed office files, heavy equipment and fuel and triggered explosions, officials said.

Authorities do not believe anyone was inside the DuBois Construction building when the fire started about 8 p.m., Montpelier Fire Lt. Dana Huoppi said. The cause of the fire had not been determined, he said.

The building is in Middlesex, just west of Montpelier, near U.S. 2 and Interstate 89. Vermont State Police rerouted traffic away from the fire.

Troopers early Saturday were cautioning drivers in the area to be careful because of icy patches caused by fire engines transporting water to the fire.

Scott and co-owner Don DuBois were on the scene as firefighters from more than a dozen fire companies battled the blaze, The Burlington Free Press reported.

“There is a lot of history here, but after watching all the devastation from (Tropical Storm) Irene, this at least is not my home,” Scott told the newspaper.

Fuel was stored in one part of the building, causing explosions after being engulfed by flames, Middlesex Assistant Fire Chief Gary Webster told the Free Press.

DuBois Construction Inc. was founded in 1946, and Scott got his start in construction working there as a laborer in the summer of 1976, according to his campaign website.

Ten years later, he and DuBois were co-owners.