Brattleboro fire knocked out power and communications lines in three towns

BRATTLEBORO – A fire at the abandoned Sportsman’s Lounge early Thursday morning knocked out power and communications lines serving residents of this town and neighboring Guilford and Vernon.

The Brattleboro Fire Department responded to the boarded-up building on Canal Street shortly after 5 a.m. and flames had reached electrical wires, city officials said.

By the time firefighters put it out at 9 a.m., the blaze had completely destroyed the condemned structure, whose bar and grill were scheduled for demolition this fall after being shuttered nearly 10 years ago.

Canal Street remained closed Thursday as crews worked with pickup trucks to replace burned wires.

Green Mountain Power had related outages to 1,400 customers at the start of the fire, and as of 11 a.m. Thursday, all but 217 had been repaired, Green Mountain Power spokeswoman Kristin Kelly said.

Comcast customers in Brattleboro, Guilford and Vernon told VTDigger they received notification that internet, television and telephone services would be down until 4 p.m. Thursday, but the company could not be reached for comment.

Neighbors said they heard two explosions around 5 a.m. before seeing the flames. State fire marshal personnel were at the scene, but officials have not yet released a cause.