The left side of the house was "partially engulfed" in flames and the homeowner inside, was apparently unaware of what was happening, police said.
SPARTA -- A Sparta police officer rescued a man in his 60s from a fast-moving house fire that destroyed his home and killed his two pet dogs on Tuesday afternoon, police said.
Police Cpl. Frank Schomp responded to 64 Maple Parkway at 3:25 p.m. after multiple 911 calls reported the structure fire.
Schomp saw that the left side of the house partially engulfed in flames and spotted the homeowner alone inside, apparently unaware of what was happening, police said.
"He knocked on the door and said, 'Hey, your house is on fire," Police Sgt. Dennis Proctor said in recounting the rescue.
The man, apparently disbelieving, slammed the door in his face, Proctor said.
At that point, Schomp "just went right in" and led the man to safety outside, Proctor said.
The homeowner, whose identity was not immediately disclosed, was taken to Newton Medical Center "just out of a precaution," Proctor said.
Schomp heard dogs barking, but the homeowner -- who said he had two -- was unable to describe their location and there was no way to attempt their rescue, Proctor said.
Proctor said the fire appears to have been accidentally caused by discarded embers from a wood burning stove that were placed in a bucket by the house.
The blaze melted the vinyl siding on the house next door and also destroyed a boat in that house's backyard, he said.
Four fire departments -- from Sparta, Andover, Byram and Ogdensburg -- extinguished the fire.
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