FLY CREEK — Flames engulfing an old carriage barn reached above the spruce trees along State highway 28 Sunday evening.

The fire was reported to emergency personnel just before 6 p.m. by property owner Robert Bahm, said Otsego County Emergency Services Coordinator Lyle "Butch" Jones.

"I called 911, and just about the same time the neighbors must have called," Bahm told reporters. "They were concerned that their barn was on fire."

When arriving on the scene, Jones said fire was rolling out of the structure.

"You didn't have any problem knowing where the fire was," he stated.

Departments on the scene were from Fly Creek, Cooperstown, Schuyler Lake, Hartwick, and Hartwick Seminary.

"For a period of time, there were additional departments (West Exitor and Milford) placed on standby," Jones said.

The probable cause of the fire was found to be an oil furnace, Jones stated, even though according to Bahm, it had just been serviced days earlier.

Jones assumed Bahm would get the furnace analyzed for insurance purposes.

One of the major concerns officials faced that evening, besides the wind, was fire that had spread into a 3 ft. to 4 ft. crawl space beneath the floor, Jones explained.

"It was creeping underneath," he stated. There was concern as to "a great deal of unstable structure overhead."

A local contractor brought in an excavator to help with the situation.

"No one had been hurt until that point," Jones said. "There was no need to put anyone in jeopardy."

Within an hour, the fire had been "knocked down."

"Fortunately we had no injuries," Jones stated.

"It's a blessing that nobody got hurt," Bahm said. "I just lost a four-wheeler, lawn mower and a bunch of tools."