Residents Escape Sparta House Fire

Residents escaped injury in a fire that tore through the second floor of a Birch Tree Lane house Sunday evening, Sparta Police said.

Sgt. Jeffrey Mase and Officer Joseph Antonello saw flames engulfing a bedroom and burning through the roof in the rear of the two-story home when they arrived at about 6 p.m. Sunday, Sgt. John-Paul Beebe said.

Several occupants were escorted from the home as the officers and Sparta Fire Department arrived, Beebe said.

No one was injured and the cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

The fire, which was placed under control within 20 minutes, was contained to the second floor, but the entire home sustained smoke and water damage, Beebe said.

The Ogdensburg Fire Department helped extinguish the blaze. Sparta Police Detective Jeffrey McCarrick and detectives from the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office are investigating the fire.